JCDecaux: 300 million self-service bicycle rentals worldwide

Paris, 11 April, 2013 - JCDecaux SA (Euronext Paris: DEC), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide and No.1 in self-service bicycle hire schemes, announces that its self-service bicycles have been rented a total of 300 million times since they were first made available in different schemes around the world. An average of 2 bicycles were rented every second in 2012.

After ten years’ international experience, the 46,536 bicycles provided by JCDecaux for self-service rental and their 3,882 docking stations have been selected by 66 cities in 10 different countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific, attracting a total of nearly 550,000 subscribers around the world. JCDecaux pioneered this form of individual public transport, installing its first bicycles in Vienna (Austria) in 2003. Since then, the group’s self-service bicycle rental schemes, which are in most cases part of the street furniture provided to cities that grant JCDecaux advertising rights, have been updated in line with users’ expectations (e.g. bicycles with stronger baskets, 3- or 7-speed gears, more comfortable saddles, etc.) and have now achieved this record-breaking number of rentals. Since 2010, all users around the world have been able to access the AllBikesNow service, a free application that can be downloaded to iPhone and Android devices, providing subscribers with access to a wealth of information about the availability of bicycles, the location of docking stations, and updated account details.

• These 300 million rentals reflect the growing enthusiasm of city-dwellers for eco- friendly means of transport, a trend confirmed by the average rental growth rate between 2012 and 2011 of 9% in France and 4% in other countries, representing an overall increase of 7%. Self-service bicycle rental solutions not only complement existing public transport systems but also help protect the environment, saving an estimated 33,899 tons of CO2 each year*.
• The success of JCDecaux’s self-service bicycle hire schemes is based upon a number of principles designed to make the service simple to use and accessible to all: a carefully tailored pricing strategy, payment by bank cards, link-up with season tickets issued by the host cities, easy access to subscriptions (via the Internet) and the close proximity of docking stations.

Jean-Charles Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and Co-CEO of JCDecaux, said: “With a total of 300 million individual rentals, the self-service bicycle rental schemes continue to meet the expectations of 66 cities and their residents. This figure reflects the outstanding quality of the service provided by JCDecaux’s teams around the world, delivering the highest levels of operations and maintenance. JCDecaux will continue to lead the way in the field of sustainable mobility, building upon today’s record-breaking figures to create the self-service bicycle rental schemes of the future.”

*assuming each use of a bike replaces a car journey, and there are 47,000 self-service bicycle journeys a day over an average distance of 9.5 kilometres