Bike rental system launched in Tallinn
Just before the arrival of winter, the capital city of Estonia launched its first bike rental system with ten locations scattered across its central city district. The city, however, hopes to expand its services into other parts of Tallinn in the future as well.
Tallinn now boasts ten bike stations stocked with community bikes which can be rented from one location and left at another, reported ETV's news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera."
The system is based on a mobile app which users install and then link up with a credit card or Tallinn Public Transport Card. The first 30 minutes of the rental are currently offered for free.
According to Tallinn Deputy Mayor Arvo Sarapuu, the bike rental system doesn't currently reach beyond the city center, or Kesklinn district, however plans call for expansion into all eight city districts in the future.
While late fall may seem to be a curious time to launch a bike rental service, this timing was actually intentional — this will allow for time to identify and address any problems as well as for users to get used to the new system before the arrival of warm weather and the peak season.
"We are still looking for problems that may come up," explained Mārcis Blumbergs, Baltic regional director of the Sixt bike rental system. "We want to be sure that there won't be any more problems and that people know how to use the system by the time peak season arrives."
According to its bike rental website, Sixt already offers more than 250 bikes at a total of 28 rental stations across the Latvian capital of Riga as well as the popular resort town of Jūrmala, located on the Baltic Sea coast.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla