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 🥊 Subsidised bike schemes face a challenge

In a recent opinion piece, TIER’s Public Policy Manager for the Nordics, Dan Néren, brought into question the necessity for a new public bike share system in Gothenburg.

While the city plans to renew their contract with styr&ställ, operated by nextbike, Néren believes that a subsidised public bike scheme drains a city’s budget and reduces competition amongst private bike operators, thus keeping prices high. This perhaps holds more weight in Sweden; January saw Stockholm cancelling their contract with City Bike over hardware failures, and Linköping spent a few million euros removing their failed bike share scheme after a lack of popularity.

Some cities, such as Rome, perform well without a subsidised bike sharing scheme, and others, like London, see more trips and users with private fleets. Yet, it is important to remember that the requirements of a public scheme (e.g. placement throughout the city, even in non-profitable areas) are often more stringent than private schemes, limiting profits but serving the whole population.

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