elperiodico.com: BCN en bici

elperiodico.com has a portal for bicing and cycling in Barcelona.

Complete bicing failure

Yesterday evening bicing was broken all over Barcelona again. This seems to happen a lot after a strong rain. But El Pais mentions that the reason was the failure of their computer system, which also affected their website.

This morning the problem was still apparent with a lot of the stations broken just before 9:00.

The graph from the bicingwatch statistics also shows that at least their web service was restarted this morning at 9:00, probably when the first people showed up in their office.

3DBicing, augmented reality for bicing

3DBicing, realidad aumentada para Bicing: "Con 3DBicing es posible ver por donde se encuentran situadas las paradas de Bicing, ver si hay bicis disponibles para coger y saber si hay anclajes donde poder dejarlas, todo ello sobreimpresionado en pantalla. La aplicación tiene un coste de 0.99 euros, asequible para lo que ofrece."

A view from the cycle path - David Hembrow: Little known about the effect of bike share on modal splits

A view from the cycle path - David Hembrow: Little known about the effect of bike share on modal splits

Barcelona is this best example. Traffic counts show a substantial growth on some cycle routes. The BICING system takes some credit for a 26% growth in cycle usage over these routes, 46% of that growth was due to BICING. Over the whole area, the cycling share has approximately doubled.

europapress: bicing rate will stay the same in 2010

Bicing Payment of the entrance to the Zoo and public rates of Barcelona City Council - tickets to local gyms, civic and cultural centers - will be frozen in 2010, today said the first deputy mayor of Welfare and Territorial Cohesion, Carles Martí.

source: europapress

La Guardia Urbana detiene a 600 barceloneses en medio año por robar bicicletas del Bicing - Qué.es

La Guardia Urbana detiene a 600 barceloneses en medio año por robar bicicletas del Bicing - Qué.es

La Guardia Urbana de Barcelona have arrested 600 people since May for stealing bicing bicycles. From the fleet of 6000 units 3300 have disappeared

bicing changes station design to make them more secure

www.btvnoticies.cat

This also seems to make it impossible to park them on the wrong side, which was needed for a while.

Veloid, bicing application for android phones

Check out veloid a application for the android mobile phones to find bicing stations around you. It also does this for bike rental systems in other cities. Now I just need one for Symbian S60.

BBC - BBC World Service Programmes - One Planet, 05/11/2009

Radio show with the BBC guys and myself talking about bicing and cycling in general:

BBC - BBC World Service Programmes - One Planet, 05/11/2009: "Also in this week's show, we meet up with Barcelona resident and One Planet listener Christof Damian. He persuades Mike to get on his bike and go for a ride - something many of us in the One Planet office have been wanting to tell Mike for a while. We also hear about cycling in Shanghai and New York. Thanks to all of you who posted your thoughts and ideas about bicycling on our Facebook page, we tried to weave as many as we could into the show."

What you don't hear: us trying three different bicing stations and about ten bikes until we find three working specimen, the mad ride down the Ramblas and annoying buskers next to the restaurant.

Bicings liberadas

You can never have too many specialized blogs. Here is one about bicing bicycles, which were "freed": Bicings liberadas

Bicing Fashion

05 Bicing,
originally uploaded by josocbcn.

josobcn has some nice bicing t-shirts on his flickr stream.

El Bicing reta al vandalismo con vehículos más rígidos | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona

El Bicing reta al vandalismo con vehículos más rígidos | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona Bicing is adapting the design of the bikes to make them more robust against vandalism.

French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets Reality - NYTimes.com

French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets Reality - NYTimes.com

But this latest French utopia has met a prosaic reality: Many of the specially designed bikes, which cost $3,500 each, are showing up on black markets in Eastern Europe and northern Africa. Many others are being spirited away for urban joy rides, then ditched by roadsides, their wheels bent and tires stripped. With 80 percent of the initial 20,600 bicycles stolen or damaged, the program’s organizers have had to hire several hundred people just to fix them. And along with the dent in the city-subsidized budget has been a blow to the Parisian psyche.

new map with clustering

I changed the map on http://api.bicingwatch.com/api/station_map a bit to make it load faster and more useful. Instead of always showing all stations directly it groups stations in areas and shows the number of stations in that cluster. Check out the link to see it in action.

YouTube - Bicing Cycles in Barcelona

Mapa de los 75 ‘bicing’ de España | ecomovilidad.net · Transporte público y movilidad urbana sostenible

Mapa de los 75 ‘bicing’ de España | ecomovilidad.net · Transporte público y movilidad urbana sostenible

Aunque en Madrid nos acaban de anunciar nuestro sistema público de alquiler de bicis, no es ni mucho menos una idea pionera. Hasta 75 ciudades de nuestro país cuentan con estos sistemas en sus calles desde hace años, tanto grandes capitales como pequeñas poblaciones que unidas en mancomunidad se organizan para llevarlos a cabo.

bicing fail

I haven't had this for a while, but today it happened again.

I tried to use a bicycle in the morning (station #27), but the bike was broken so I placed it back into the anchor. Then the station started blinking yellow and blocked the bike. There was no functional bike left, so the station said so. When I hold my card against the reader I was told that I already had a bike.

When I arrived at work by foot I contacted bicing, I also send them photos of the bicycle and station. Even though I did so they still charged me 10.50 Euro for 4h 5m. Thank god it isn't that much, but I can understand how people are angry if it happens often.

In the end it was not my fault, but the cause of a broken bicycle and a station not working correctly. The other problem was the slow reaction time, I contacted them in the first two hours, not after four.

Maybe they should raise the yearly fee instead of introducing these hidden costs.

avui.cat: Ciutat Vella llança un SOS per la inseguretat i el Bicing s’ensorra

Ciutat Vella llança un SOS per la inseguretat i el Bicing s’ensorra: "Però la sorpresa en la valoració del que ha empitjorat se l’endú una de les estrelles del mandat de Jordi Hereu, el servei municipal de Bicing, que registra un fort descontentament en relació amb la valoració que va rebre l’any passat. Un 26,6% de ciutadans (onze punts menys que el 2008) creuen que el servei ha millorat, mentre que un 17,6% (sis punts més que el 2008) creuen que ha empitjorat." People are not happy with bicing: 26.6% of people (eleven points less than in 2008) believe that the service has improved, while 17.6% (six points more than in 2008) believe they have worsened.

BBC - London - London's new hire bike unveiled

BBC - London - London's new hire bike unveiled: "BBC London has been given the first look at the capital's new hire bike. If all goes to plan, 6,000 of them will be parked on 400 docking stations next summer." One nice thing compared to Barcelona: "The bikes will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year" Lets see how they cope with vandalism.

New bikes

Some bicing spotting: noticed some > #16000 bikes today. Still all shiny and with only small modifications. I noticed new seat clamps and a protection bar for the gear box at the rear axle.

Bicing@Bab Bou Jeloud

Bicing@Bab Bou Jeloud,
originally uploaded by Quicon.

Now we know where missing bicing bike go.

(mis)adventures in bikesharing: September 7 through September 8, 2009: Barcelona

(mis)adventures in bikesharing: September 7 through September 8, 2009: Barcelona: "The next couple of days in Barcelona brought two very important meetings of the trip. The first was with Jordi Cabañas, Director of Operation for Smartbike, Southern Europe. Smartbike is a division of Clear Channel, one of the two major global bike share providers and operators (the other one is JC Decaux)."

El Bicing pincha por "el truco de la llave" · ELPAÍS.com

El Bicing pincha por "el truco de la llave" · ELPAÍS.com New article about the problem of bicing theft.

Bicing and the Tour de France

I still have no camera, so here is a picture from Jamfris on flickr.

And the bicycle has a flat tire - of course

Bicing: Barcelona's Communal Bicycle Program Has Transformed The City (VIDEO)

Bicing: Barcelona's Communal Bicycle Program Has Transformed The City (VIDEO): "While the United States continues to dither with small-scale programs in Washington DC, San Francisco, New York and Denver (Denver has 50 bikes, DC has a program & SF says they'll have a pilot program), Europe has nailed down the shared-bike program cold. France's Vélib, with 20,000 bikes, may be the world's largest initiative, but Barcelona's Bicing is touted as one of the most successful."

Bike Europe - News: Barcelona's Bicing Bike Rental Scheme Beats All Expectations

Bike Europe - News: Barcelona's Bicing Bike Rental Scheme Beats All Expectations: "15% of the city’s adult population is using the Bicing bikes frequently and on a subscription basis! During winter time 35,000 trips are made each day, which rises to 58,000 trips in summer."

Un pirata informático proyecta una 'porno' en un puesto de préstamo de bicicletas | Castilla y León | elmundo.es

Un pirata informático proyecta una 'porno' en un puesto de préstamo de bicicletas | Castilla y León | elmundo.es Bicycle sharing station screen hacked to display porno.

bicing-harley

The Barcelona Guide » The Truth About Free Bikes in Barcelona

The Barcelona Guide » The Truth About Free Bikes in Barcelona: "Many bikes have also been stolen, which is remarkable considering that in order to use Bicing, locals have to become members and then hand over a credit card number (it’s a €350 fine if you steal a bike!). Besides people riding off into the sunset with the city bikes, many people also seem to get a kick out of vandalizing them. Most Bicings are missing headlights or taillights and almost none of them have their bells anymore."

more stations

View bicing 14.5.2009 in a larger map

• 72 - Passatge Mercader
• 406 - Terciana a continuació de la Plaça Universitat
• 411 - Rambla Catalunya, 31 ( Diputació)
• 415 - Rambla del Raval, 13
• 416 - Rambla del Raval, 20
• 412 - Pl. Urquinaona (illeta)
• 414 - Casp, 67
• 418 - Passeig de Lluís Companys
• 405 - Plaça Comercial (annexa a l'estació 10)

Multas de hasta 700 euros por destrozar las bicis del 'Bicing' | Barcelona | elmundo.es

Multas de hasta 700 euros por destrozar las bicis del 'Bicing' | Barcelona | elmundo.es: "La Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona sancionará a partir del lunes 18 de mayo con multas de hasta 701 euros los actos vandálicos llevados a cabo con bibicletas del 'Bicing', entendiendo como actos vandálicos el provocar desperfectos premeditadamente en los vehículos o el utilizarlos para provocar daños en el espacio público o el mobiliario urbano. El Ayuntamiento ha decidido promulgar esta medida, enmarcada dentro de la Ordenanza Cívica para corregir los datos de una auditoría encargada al RACC que desvela que cada año desaparecen 400 de las 6.000 bicicletas que componen el parque de vehículos de este servicio público que alquiler, y que matiza que, del 12% de bicicletas defectuosas detectado, un 4% han sido destrozadas ex profeso."

new bicing stations (finally)

View bicing 5.5.2009 in a larger map

• 397 - Av. Del Litoral
• 398 - Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta
• 401 - Pl. Antoni López, 4
• 402 - Passeig de Colom/Laietana s/n
• 404 - C/ Doctor Joaquim Pou, 5-9
• 407 - Ramon Trias Fargas, 19
• 409 - Joan d'Austria,50
• 419 - Passeig de Lluís Companys
• 420 - Gran Via, 361
• 421 - Plaça de Joan Peiró
• 425 - Carrer de Cervelló, 5
• 426 - Carrer de Ribes, 59b

Bicing: Barcelona's Communal Bicycle Program Has Transformed The City (VIDEO)

Bicing: Barcelona's Communal Bicycle Program Has Transformed The City (VIDEO): "On an unusually hot afternoon this spring, the streets of Barcelona are filled with bicyclist commuters -- university students zipping down wide avenues, business men in slim-cut suits, and the elderly, navigating a busy intersection on two shaky wheels. Many of these users have just picked up the sport thanks to the city's Bicing program, which after only two years, has evolved from a novelty to a force of change, affecting the flow of traffic across the entire city."

Real Madrid 2 - FC Barcelona 6

Ecsta-six - 122/365,
originally uploaded by tranchis.

You see bicing everywhere and all the time now.

::merkur.de (Rheinischer Merkur): 2009_18.Nie wieder radlos::

Article in German about bike rental and sharing services in Europe. Here is a google translated version. ::merkur.de (Rheinischer Merkur): 2009_18.Nie wieder radlos::: "Keine Lust auf Stau? Kein Geld, um dauernd einen neuen Drahtesel zu kaufen, weil der alte geklaut wurde? Der umweltbewusste Städter rollt auf geliehenen Velos durch den dicksten Verkehr."

Barcelona redujo el 28% los accidentes mortales en el 2008 | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona

Barcelona redujo el 28% los accidentes mortales en el 2008 | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona: "La otra cara de esta moneda es el aumento en un 11,3% de los accidentes en los que hay una bicicleta implicada. Claro que ello ocurre en pleno boom del Bicing, que ha incrementado un 26% los desplazamientos con pedales."

stations full or just broken

This a common problem and it seems to get worse recently. The station at my home seems to be a parking lot for all the broken cycles

You can also see the problem at api bicingwatch if you look at the "maybe broken" graph, which shows the difference between maximum places and free places + available bikes.

Mayor Boris Johnson announces plans for London bike hire scheme | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Mayor Boris Johnson announces plans for London bike hire scheme | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "Londoners will soon be able to hire bikes in the centre of town for short journeys, under plans announced today by the mayor, Boris Johnson.

From 2010, the capital's cycle hire scheme should be open with around 6,000 bikes in central locations. Today, Transport for London (TfL) began applying for planning permission for the 400 docking stations, where people will be able to pick up and drop off bikes around central London."

Also check the Transport for London release.

A collection of bicing articles in El Periódico

• El sorprendente éxito del Bicing deteriora la imagen de los ciclistas
• Ayuntamiento y Clear Channel renegocian la contrata al alza
• La falta de mantenimiento lastra el correcto desarrollo del servicio

Google translate:

• The amazing success of Bicing damaged the image of cyclists
• City Hall and the Clear Channel contract renegotiated upward
• Lack of maintenance hinders the proper development of the service

City bike-sharing picks up speed - CNN.com

City bike-sharing picks up speed - CNN.com: "Think reduced carbon-dioxide pollution, smoother traffic flow and a healthier commute. After all, 94 percent of Parisian bike-sharers can't be wrong. This is the overwhelming proportion of users who declared themselves satisfied with the world's most high-profile bike-sharing system in Paris, France, according to a survey done about nine months after its official launch on July 15, 2007."

Every turn of the wheel is a revoliton

via wooster collective

bicing tuning

A video on lavangardia.es showing a group of artists pimping bicing bicycles. The Ayuntamiento is not amused.

Cycling is good for you: Anna cycling in Barcelona

Cycling is good for you: Anna cycling in Barcelona: "I've been to Barcelona before in 2002, but only for one day. I think many things have changed the face of the city ever since, especially the cycling boom that has started with BiCiNg (Anna was damn right about that). So here are just a few of my impressions and comparisons to Vienna"

El nuevo Bicing on Twitpic

El nuevo Bicing on Twitpic

Spanien: Bicing - Großer Erfolg der Öffentlichen Fahrräder in Barcelona - Fahrradportal > Aktuell > Neuigkeiten - Fahrradportal Nationaler Radverkehrsplan

Spanien: Bicing - Großer Erfolg der Öffentlichen Fahrräder in Barcelona - Fahrradportal > Aktuell > Neuigkeiten - Fahrradportal Nationaler Radverkehrsplan: "The public bicycle has changed the face of the city, where it now forms part of the urban landscape. Moreover the public bicycle has helped to increase the number of private bicycles. Apart from creating a new sustainable mobility, a new industry has submerged, the industry of the public bicycle, which counts already with more than 200 employees. Regarding the urban mobility pattern, different studies show that the public bicycle is used complimentarily to the public transport, as 30% of the subscribed persons combine the bicycle with the subway, the bus or the tramway." German article about bicing, contains an English translation too.

Hereu: "Bicing has already become one of Barcelona's symbols"

Hereu: "Bicing has already become one of Barcelona's symbols": "New ways of checking availability are already at hand, namely texting and an Iphone application This Sunday, 22 March, will see the second anniversary of Bicing's introduction to the city. The service was introduced in 2007 as a form of public transport with 14 stations and 200 bicycles, a network that would gradually expand."

Cycling is good for you: BiCiNg or the cycling boom in Barcelona

Cycling is good for you: BiCiNg or the cycling boom in Barcelona: "BiCiNg has indeed changed Barcelona and people’s habits in moving throughout the city but what it cannot do is telling us how to act. It is our responsibility to be civic and peacefully cohabitate with the rest of users."

official iphone app

It seems there is a official bicing app out now. I couldn't find an official link, but you can check it out on this site.
 

Barcelona’s Bike Sharing Program Celebrates its 2-Year Anniversary with its 186,000 Users : TreeHugger

Barcelona’s Bike Sharing Program Celebrates its 2-Year Anniversary with its 186,000 Users : TreeHugger: "As you could read in our first post about Barcelona’s bike sharing system written in May 2007, Bicing started with a bang: 30,000 subscribers in the first 2 months; 15 stations and 200 bicycles to start with. Since then, it has been forced to expand and grow rapidly and now counts 400 stations and 6,000 bikes for 186,000 subscribers. Read on for more impressive numbers and figures."

“El ‘bicing’ ha reducido un 30% las ventas de bicicletas” - Expansión.com

“El ‘bicing’ ha reducido un 30% las ventas de bicicletas” - Expansión.com Expansion.com has an interview with Cahuas Escuder Pere who is one of the Probike owners:

Q: What do you think the 'bicing'? A: From the social point of view is an excellent idea to remove your hat, because there are more than 120,000 users in Barcelona bike. But the authorities have ignored the commercial network at the time of launching the service. Have not been how could affect our sales and if the retailers could offer our services in place that makes a multinational. We feel very bad about the treatment we received. In addition, the service is weak and disastrous.

Q: But do they have dropped the sales of bikes? A: Yes, the urban bike fell 30% in Barcelona and there are shops with problems. But I'm optimistic: I think the bicing have a positive impact in the long term.

I think the number of bicycles in Barcelona has probably increased already. At least the usage of bicycles has, because the city is much more bicycle friendly now.

bicing newsletter #14 is out

They have some new statistics:

• Nº d'usos registrats al servei : 965.094.
• Nº d'abonats: 184.822.
• Percentatge d'usuaris que renoven: 98,07%
• Distància recorreguda: 2,6 milions de quilòmetres.

They also mention the three new vans which do quick repairs on the bicycles during the day, this should fix some of the smaller problems with the bicycles. Also highlighted are the new lights for the bicycles, which should make them more visible at night. The newsletter is also available as PDF.

bicing panorama

The Bike-sharing Blog: Paris' Woes of Theft and Vandalism

The Bike-sharing Blog: Paris' Woes of Theft and Vandalism: "In a year and a half of operation, 7,800 bicycles have disappeared from Paris’ highly successful bike-sharing program as reported by LeParisien. On top of that, another 11,600 have been vandalized. To cope with this grave problem, 500 mechanics work on 1,500 bicycles each day to keep the system running." Paris seems to have the same problem with vandalism as in Barcelona. And I bet they get the same complains about the service too. Every city gets the bike sharing service it deserves.

Bicing Barcelona Sucks!

Bicing Barcelona Sucks!
Originally uploaded by tyldurd

iBicis Barcelona

Another bicing iPhone app: iBicis Barcelona: "Here it comes the best application for one of the most popular public transport services in Barcelona: Bicing, the new unexpensive and sustainable public transport, with more than 200,000 users. Download iBicis Barcelona and you'll never go to an empty station to grab a bike again. Are you riding near Sagrada Familia and you don't know where the closest Bicing station is? iBicis Barcelona will locate the nearest station in just a couple of seconds."

Matthew Yglesias » Barcelona Bicycle Policy

Matthew Yglesias » Barcelona Bicycle Policy: "It occurs to me every time I see a bike share service in another city that it would do a lot to extend the utility of these things if there were some kind of reciprocity agreement in place between different bike sharing cities. I’m a SmartBikeDC member, but I rarely use it because like most people inclined to get around town on a bike I own a bike and usually ride that. It’s when I’m not in DC that I really want to use a bike share."

Bike Snob NYC: Trendcycles: Evolution or Reiteration?

Bike Snob NYC: Trendcycles: Evolution or Reiteration?: "But rest assured, condom grips are a trend. In fact, it's an international trend. Another commenter from Barcelona (that's in Spain) points out that a company indeed markets handlebar condoms to protect riders who use their apparently filthy bike-sharing program" Bike Snob notices condoms for filthy Barcelona.

Fine: 217.50€ - GoloBlog

Fine: 217.50€ - GoloBlog: "I think it’s a good idea to check your Bicing.com user stats from time to time. Just to check that you didn’t do anything wrong" Interesting that the duration is 1 minute. I also had some errors in my usage. One day I managed to use the bike for 300 hours and then use another one a few minutes later on the same day.

Cyclists had 492 accidents in Barcelona in 2008, a 11.3% increase

Los ciclistas sufrieron 492 accidentes en Barcelona en 2008, un 11,3% más This is with an increase of 13% in bicycle usage. 124 of the bicycle accidents were related to bicing. The city council is planning to build more cycle lanes like in C/Urgell to make cyclist feel safer.

El área metropolitana se suma en bloque a la ampliación del Bicing | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona

El área metropolitana se suma en bloque a la ampliación del Bicing | El Periódico de Catalunya | Barcelona: "tener su Bicing. Los plenarios de 14 de los 17 municipios que dispondrán del Área Bicing, el servicio metropolitano de préstamo de bicicletas similar al que funciona en Barcelona, ya han ratificado el convenio y el resto lo hará entre este mes y febrero." The metropolitan area of Barcelona will get Bicing too. The card will be compatible and the new stations and cycle lanes are in planing now.