Jaworzno is the first city in Poland to introduce a long-term rental system for electric bicycles. What does it consist of and why was Jaworzno chosen?
In December 2022, we wrote in the pages of architekturaibiznes.pl about the idea of the Public Transport Authority of Krakow for a new bicycle rental formula. Krakow is creating and introducing the "Lajkbike" system — where residents could rent traditional and electric bicycles on a monthly subscription basis. However, Krakow's system has been stalled by bureaucratic problems related to waiting for an interpretation from the National Tax Chamber.
In the meantime, Krakow has been surpassed by Jaworzno, which has introduced and launched an urban electric bicycle system for long-term rental. The system is already being used by the city's residents.
Jaworzno has long set its sights on developing electromobility in the city. We were one of the first cities in Poland to have electric buses running around our city, which now account for 70 percent of the total fleet. It is gratifying to see that another good initiative has been launched, this time the long-term rental of an electric city bike, which will be continued by other cities in Poland," points out Jaworzno Mayor Paweł Silbert.
The city has prepared 171 electric bicycles that can be rented by city residents
© Jaworzno City Hall
hybrid combination of systems
The city has prepared 171 electric bicycles that city residents can rent. The monthly subscription is 50 zloty. The bike must be rented for a minimum of one year. The longest rental term is until December 15, 2025, according to contracts with the supplier. Bicycles must undergo two mandatory inspections during the term of the contract. The inspections are free of charge. The cost of the entire project with service until December 2025 was just under 4 million zlotys.
Who can rent a bicycle? Any adult resident of Jaworzno, as well as minors who have a bicycle card issued by a Primary School or Traffic Center, for whom the contract was signed by legal guardians.
The professionally conducted procedure by the bicycle team of the Jaworzno Municipal Office, the quick delivery of the bicycles and the efficient execution of the contracting with residents made Jaworzno the first city to introduce such a type of urban bicycle rental in Poland, says Marcin Jeż, head of the „Jaworzno Urban Bicycle” project of BikeU.
In addition to long-term rental, a short-term rental option has appeared in Jaworzno. As part of a more „traditional” system, 50 bicycles located around 20 stations throughout the city have been delivered. Jaworzno is trying to combine the two systems — the well-known urban bicycle and electric bike subscription in many Polish cities.
Under the more „traditional” system, 50 bicycles located around 20 stations throughout the city have been delivered
© Jaworzno City Hall
Vision Zero and the first steps
In Poland, it is in vain to look for another city that has adopted such an ambitious policy when it comes to rebuilding its transportation system as Jaworzno. The Swedish Vision Zero concept of minimizing the possibility of fatal traffic accidents is not popular in Poland, so it is an interesting case of a 90,000-strong city that decided to adopt it as its official policy. One of its results was a period from mid-2016 to early 2018 without a fatal accident. Jaworzno also took the podium in the EU Urban Road Safety Award, just behind the Spanish city of Pontevedra and the Turkish city of Odru.
© City of Jaworzno
Electric bicycles and a traditional urban rental service are other elements of building a system focused on road safety. The long-term rental project has only just taken off, so evaluation and assessment of the effects are worth waiting for. Nonetheless, this city of 90,000 people has overtaken other cities in Poland in the race, which shows that the path of innovation is not reserved only for metropolises.
