New record for share-bikes

In cities like Antwerp and Brussels, where people can rent a bike on-the-go, a record number of ‘rides’ have been reported. Velo, the company responsible for the cycle hire in Antwerp, states that 367,000 rides were registered last month. This is a third more in comparison to September 2013.Villo in Brussels, also did very well and reports that 40,000 bicycles are being rented out each week.

Blue-bikes, which issues sharing bicycles at railway stations, also report a positive trend. “May and September are usually the best months for us. However, this year, September was nothing short of spectacular: the number of hired bicycles rose by 25%”, says Sven Huysman, Blue-bike spokesman.

Aside from the lovely summer weather, there’s another explanation for the rise in rented bicycles: “The ‘Week of Mobility’ proved to be a great success. People are ready to actively seek alternatives for car travel.”