LIEmobil starts bike rental with 70 “LIEbikes” – Liechtenstein
SCHAAN – From early summer, 70 e-bikes will be available to the public for hire. Whether quickly from A to B, the “last mile” from the bus stop to work or just for a ride in between – the new bicycle rental system “LIEbike” offers high-quality bikes at various locations for comfortable, ecological and health-promoting mobility. LIEmobil announced this on Friday.
Cycling plays an important role in the government’s mobility concept for 2030, as well as in the plans of the municipalities and some companies. A first package of measures in the mobility concept relates not only to the expansion of public transport but also to the promotion of active transport. LIEmobil takes on the role of coordinator, organizer and operator of a nationwide bike rental system. The rental is financed by municipalities, companies and LIEmobil.
The bike rental service in Liechtenstein appears under its own brand “LIEbike”. The e-bikes and the parking facilities are lime-green, as are the LIEmobil buses. They would represent the connection and supplement to public transport. According to the broadcast, the pilot phase started in early summer in Vaduz, Schaan, Gamprin, Eschen and Ruggell. The first community facility alone will have up to 13 locations for e-bikes at a later date, including at the post office, at the Vaduzer hall, in the city or at the university. Schaan and Gamprin also announced that they are considering four locations each.
The “LIEbike” fleet will initially consist of around 70 e-bikes, which are expected to be available inexpensively at 20 stations. The stations can be found near well-frequented bus stops, but also in the neighbourhoods. When asked exactly where these locations will be, LIEmobil cannot say yet. Media spokeswoman Alexandra Stocker said the final approvals were still pending. LIEmobil organizes the repair service and shunting of the e-bikes with external partners, with a tender for the shunting currently running. After the end of the pilot phase, the rental system can be extended to other communities, but also to company locations in the country and supplemented with additional bicycles, writes LIEmobil.
Simple, fast and everywhere
The handling of the bikes is easy: With the “LIEbike” app, everyone can register in just a few steps, choose the usage period from 30 minutes to an annual subscription, scan the QR code and start riding straight away. The “LIEbikes” has a low entry so that a broad target group can use it. Everyone is addressed – from young to old, commuters, leisure cyclists and tourists. The bicycles offered public transport users a suitable means of transport for the route from the bus stop to work or home. Riding an e-bike to work is a cost-effective, healthy and pollution-free solution. Even traffic jams are not an obstacle for cyclists, so that you often reach your destination even faster over short distances. In addition, the electric support of the “LIEbikes” is ideal for mastering everyday journeys without much effort – even on steep routes.
The «last mile»
Since a further increase in jobs in Liechtenstein can be assumed and mobility will continue to be a major challenge in the future, non-motorised traffic is an important issue for LIEmobil. A nationwide bike rental system creates the opportunity to link routes that cannot be networked by motorized traffic. “LIEbike” serves both as an extension of the bus route network and as a supplement at times or in places that are less easily accessible by bus.
The pilot phase is intended to provide empirical values and serve as an assessment by the population. From this, the LIEmobil could develop into a customer-oriented and area-wide offer in the future.