If you’re looking to rent a bicycle from one of the many bike stations around the city you will have to wait until at least April 1st, and that’s no April fools joke.
We first reported on city’s automatic bike rental system back in March of 2012, one year after the system became operational.
This year however, the city of Wrocław is still trying to find a company willing to operate the rental. The previous operator, Nextbike, placed the only bid earlier this year to the sound of 600 thousand złotych, which was deemed too high to Wrocław’s previously set limit of 500 thousand. In a second bidding process, Nextbike reduced that bid to 500 thousand zlotych and is yet again the only company bidding to operate the rental.
While time is running out and many great bicycling days have already past due to a very mellow winter, Wrocław seems to have cooled off its bike rental ambitions. The city was once viewed as a trendsetter when first bicycle rental stations were opening and new ones were scheduled to come online, but others have since far surpassed Wrocław. Warsaw, Poznań, Kraków and Lublin are actively investing and expending their bicycle rental service.
Let’s hope an agreement can be reached soon to get these bikes on the road, as it’s beautiful outside.
