Bicing

Bicing is a bicycle-sharing system in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which was implemented in March 2007, promoted by the City Council. The municipal company Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) is the manager of the service, while the exploitation concession corresponds to Pedalem Barcelona since 2019, a Temporary Union of Companies formed by CESPA (Ferrovial Services) and PBSC. Between 2007 and 2018, Clear Channel was the company in charge of this task. It is similar to the Vélo'v service in Lyon or Vélib' in Paris, and uses the same bicycles and stations as used in Stockholm, Oslo, and Zaragoza. Its purpose is to cover small and medium daily routes within the city in a climate-friendly way, eliminating the pollution, roadway noise, and traffic congestion that motor vehicles create. ==Operation== As of 2021, the city council and Pedalem Barcelona manage and maintain the bike share system, provided by PBSC Urban Solutions, an international bike share company that provides bikes and stations. To use it, users must acquire a yearly membership. Currently the network consists of more than 519 stations to lend and return over 7000 bicycles distributed throughout the system.

The stations are situated through most of the flat areas of the city with a distance of around 300 to 400 metres between each one. Many are situated next to public transport stops to allow for intermodal use. Metro stations usually have signs pointing to the locations of nearest Bicing stations. The bikes can be borrowed from and returned to any station in the system, making it suitable for one-way travel. Each station has between 15 and 30 parking slots to hold and lock bicycles, but in highly transited areas many stations may be close together.