German company nextbike, which is owned by shared micromobility operator TIER, has won a new tender to supply the bike-sharing system in Barcelona, Spain.
In total, 2,600 e-bikes will be available to riders at the beginning of 2023.
The new service is called AMBici and was created by AMB, the metropolitan public administration. It will be operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).
In agreement with the local authorities, nextbike will operate in 15 municipalities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona with the distribution of e-bikes across 236 stations. The full expansion is expected to be completed by the end of April. Once completed, all municipalities will be fully integrated into the new bike-sharing system.
Manuel Arauco, General Manager for Spain at TIER Mobility, told Zag Daily that Barcelona has a strong commitment to sustainable mobility and high-quality public services. “Reaching roughly 1.2 million inhabitants in the Barcelona metropolitan area, this large-scale system will offer a real alternative for commuters, residents, and tourists looking for a sustainable mode of transport that seamlessly integrates with public transport.”
nextbike is already operating in more than 300 cities worldwide and six cities across Spain, including Bilbao, León and Las Palmas.
Jhon Alexander Ramirez Ospina, International Business Development Manager at nextbike, added that the company expects to see similar success to their Bilbaobizi system in Bilbao where they recorded up to 18 rentals per bike a day.
In June, nextbike won the largest bike-share system in Poland that will run from 2023-2028.
The tender win follows the release of new data claiming that TIER rides have replaced 48 million kilometres of car journeys in the 24 countries it serves, avoiding eight million kilograms of CO2 emissions.
