TOP 40 European self-service bike systems

Since its inception, bikesharing programs have grown worldwide. Nowadays self-service bike systems are part of the urban life of the major cities in the world and especially in Europe.    The ACA (Automobile Club Association) and the European Automobile touring Clubs recently worked together during the month of may 2012 in order to evaluate 40 free-service bikes systems located in major cities across 18 different European countries (France, Germany, Belgique, Luxembourg, Italie, Espagne, Portugal, Autriche, Suisse, Grande-Bretagne, Irlande, Danemark, Suède, Norvège, Pays-Bas, Pologne, Slovénie, République Tchèque). The objective of this test was to inform the users and also to invite the system operators to optimize their offer.  4 criteria were used to evaluate each system: - Accessibility (35% of the overall grade) - Informations (26% of the overall grade) - Ease of use (25% of the overall grade) - Quality of the bikes (14% of the overall grade) Systems were then divided into 5 categories VeryGood/Good/Acceptable/Poor/VeryPoor. Here are the results: Cyclocity is the self-service bycicle scheme by JCDecaux and its systems are highlighted with a star.  With the top 3 ranked systems and all systems in the "Good/Very Good" Category, JCDecaux shows its expertise in the domain of bikesharing.     Jean-Charles Decaux said: “The first 3 places in this European ranking awarded to our self-service bicycle rental schemes in Lyons, Paris and Brussels underline the value of our products and above all  the quality of the service provided by our teams, the core values of our corporate culture. I would like to thank our staff in France and around the world, who have set the highest standards in the maintenance and the operation of the bike schemes. Reinvented by JCDecaux, this new form of individual public transport is now a unanimous success, with 2 self-service bicycles rented every second around the world.  This achievement is the result of the fantastic work carried out by our engineering and operating teams and the growing recognition of our users. This ranking does not take into account the cost of the self-service bicycle schemes to the cities, a key fact that separates JCDecaux from its main competitors. Under JCDecaux’s business model, the investment and operating costs of the self-service bicycles are financed by advertising on street furniture” More Information about Cyclocity Map: Carte Cyclocity 2011