Paris, March 22, 2010 - JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the No.1 outdoor advertising company in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region, No.2 worldwide in this industry, and No.1 worldwide in self-service bicycle, officially launched Cyclocity Toyama on March 20, 2010. Unilever is the first sponsor of this individual public mobility system.
The Cyclocity Toyama scheme includes 150 bicycles available for self-service rental divided between 15 bike stations in the city centre. A dedicated maintenance team will be responsible for the system.
Cyclocity Toyama will be a showcase for JCDecaux in Japan, of particular benefit to other cities who are considering this new form of eco-friendly transport. Toyama joins the list of the 65 cities operated by JCDecaux with self-service bicycle such as Vienna, Paris, Lyon, Brussels, Dublin, Sevilla, Luxembourg. All the 42,000 bicycles have generated more than 120 million rentals worldwide since their launch. The iPhone application AllBikesnow launched last week by JCDecaux for all self-service bicycle scheme is also available on Cyclocity Toyama.
Jean-Charles Decaux, co-CEO of JCDecaux, commented on the launch of Cyclocity in Toyama: “Cyclocity Toyama is JCDecaux’s first self-service bicycle scheme in Japan and is a system that is in tune with the expectations of cities and their residents towards sustainable development. Cyclocity Toyama is part of the urban landscape and is an eco-friendly response to the problems of heavy traffic and pollution, simultaneously providing safety, comfort and ease of use. Innovation has always been a driving force in the development of our Group. CyclocityToyamademonstrates JCDecaux’s continued ability to provide local communities with new solutions to the challenges they face, particularly in the area of environmental protection.”