Bisi’s days in Zaragoza are numbered

Busy Zaragoza’s days are numbered. Introduced in 2008 during the Water Expo, this service marked the “before” and “after” of urban mobility. only a few months left before disappearing. The new bike-sharing company Serveo plans to roll out a fleet of 2,500 bikes across the capital this spring. More modern, electric, with Wi-Fi and an anti-puncture system, they will cover all districts of the capital, and not just a few, as now, and will work 24 hours a day. They will also cost more. During this period of impasse, Bizi continues to fight back with its nearly 12,000 subscribers, the most dedicated of whom, pedal by pedal, have managed to reach 30 million uses in 16 years.

The transition between one company and another is still being studied and it is possible that the bike rental service will be suspended for one to two weeks. Servo stations are much more complex because they require a larger electrical outlet to charge pedal-powered bikes.

As for the new locations (276), also anchored, in areas where there are already Bizi stations, there will be few changes, which will mostly be repeated. This will mean that be out of action for a few daysbetween Clear Channel dismantling its infrastructure and Serveo beginning to build its own. However, Mobility stresses that the process is still being studied and that efforts will be made to minimize unavoidable conditions during the transition.

Clear Channel may keep its Bizis until November 2024 (specifically until October 31), according to the latest extension of the agreement reached with the company on compensation for economic losses recorded during the self-isolation and alarm regime.

Busy’s glory years

This service lived his glory years in 2011, 2012 and 2013, when he had between 38,000 and 39,000 subscribers. and up to 3 million annual uses have been reported. This progress has been accompanied by an expansion of the bike path network, which now totals 150 kilometers. Since then, the loss of cyclists has been constant, with no sign of recovery.

In 2019, the number of users of this service did not reach 20,000 (19,588), and the number of uses barely exceeded a million. From 18,588 in 2019, it increased to 16,224 in 2020, 13,945 in 2021, 12,782 in 2022 and the 11,666 it closed with last year. Usage, of course, did the same and remained at 940,861 last year, down 12% from the previous year.

In the area of ​​mobility, it’s not that trivial that they have reached 30 million uses in a city that makes short trips, averaging 2 to 3 kilometers. This means that the red bikes have traveled between 60 and 90 million kilometers through the capital of the Ebro (and Cerro).

Poor condition of bicycles

Among the reasons why Bizi lost users, one stands out: lack of maintenance on their bikes, completely outdated. The Clear Channel contract did not include fleet upgrades, so the bikes are too old and it’s not uncommon to find a bike with no brakes, a squeaking sound with every pedal stroke, or a saddle that can’t be adjusted.

Adding to this sad state is the emergence of scooters and both bike and electric scooter rental companies. The shared mobility revolution has experienced a second boom since the pandemic, with the number of cyclists and scooter users soaring, thanks in large part to private companies deploying their fleets. Since the lockdown, the use of bike lanes has skyrocketed by 80%. However, Busy lost more than 23% of his subscribers.

The annual cost of this service is too high for the low demand it has had for years, said the current mayor of Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca, when she was councilor for mobility, and assured that the model is “exhausted.”

6 million European aid

However, the company saw an opportunity to give the service a new look with the arrival of European funds that finance sustainable mobility projects. Specific, The capital raised 6.5 million to promote a new bicycle service public, the contract value of which is 55,583,330 euros.

With the help of Europe, a new bicycle rental service will be launched. This amount will be used to purchase bicycles and install infrastructure. 276 stations are scattered throughout all areas. which, moreover, do not have a fixed number of hooks, but adapt according to space and needs. In total they will be distributed throughout the streets 2500 electric bicycles which are to be parked at the 276 stations that will be installed. Bisi currently has 1,300 units and 130 stops.

“Busy played an important role in the introduction of the bicycle as a means of urban transport.linked to the strong cycling network that various governments are gradually expanding and which we are currently also extending to the outskirts of the city (industrial complexes and rural areas),” emphasizes Mobility Advisor Tatiana Gaudes, who emphasizes that “New Busy, in addition to covering everyone districts, “will be another element, in this case related to sustainable mobility, in achieving the goal of making Zaragoza a climate neutral city in 2030.”