As of March 1st, users of the city’s bike share scheme have been promised “a revolution” with the roll-out of the new look Veturilo bike.
As of March 1st, users of the city’s bike share scheme have been promised “a revolution” with the roll-out of the new look Veturilo bike.
For the first time ever, all 18 districts of Warsaw will be served by Veturilo, with even the bike stations updated – instead of the clunky terminals of old, expect more visible and more user-friendly information poles to take their place.
In line with demand, Śródmieście is set to have the most stations (60), followed by Wola (35) and Praga-Południe (26).
Moreover, users will also be able to park e-scooters and private bicycles at these ‘mobility hubs’. Of the other changes that await, cyclists will no longer need to use the previous electric lock system – instead, a locking device will be built directly in the bike.
Increased parking options have also been developed for those unable to find a station and, for an extra fee of PLN 15, cyclists will be able to use other stations for the Veturilo 3.0. Likewise though, a reward system will also be introduced whereby users will be credited with PLN 5 to their Veturilo account for returning their bike to a recognized station.
Those abandoning their bike altogether, however, will face a new penalty system with fines beginning at PLN 20.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis, it’s also been revealed that the price of the scheme will remain unchanged: charges for normal bikes will remain set at PLN 0 for 1-20 minutes, PLN 1 for 21-60 minutes, PLN 3 for a second hour, PLN 5 for the third hour and PLN 7 for the fourth hour plus.
Electrically assisted bikes, meanwhile, will be charged at PLN 0 for 1-20 minutes, PLN 6 for 21-60 minutes, and PLN 24 for each hour thereafter.
First introduced in 2012, Veturilo bikes have helped revolutionize Warsaw’s transport, with the city’s transport authority, ZDM, revealing that over 34 million bikes have been rented since the premier of the project. In that time, a total of 1.5 million people have registered for the scheme.