ARCHIVED - Murcia city adopts popular European e-motorbike rental service

The 'bike share' initiative has proved extremely popular in major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona

Electric motorbikes are becoming an increasingly popular way to get around quickly, cheaply and efficiently. And this week, Murcia joined a growing number of European cities offering a rental service to encourage people to switch from private cars to a more sustainable alternative.

From September, 150 e-bikes will be available for hire following an agreement between the city council and the company Gougo Motosharing. A similar initiative has already been successfully implemented in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Gandía, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as well as other European cities.

The motorbike sharing service will initially operate from 7am to 2pm with the intention of extending to 24 hours a day in the near future. To rent a scooter, you must be of legal age and hold an A1 or B licence, with more than three years' experience.

The standard rate is 33 cents per minute, although a voucher scheme will be offered with costs as low as 19 cents/min. In addition, there will be discounts for companies and groups and special offers on specific dates.

This initiative has been announced in Murcia just weeks after the launch of reforms to public transport links in the city, including increased bus routes and e-scooter rental.

The Gougo Motosharing scooter rental service will be accessible via a mobile phone App (Android or IOS), with further detials expected to be announced within the next couple of weeks.

Users must register for the service via the App or the company's website, and once registered, will be able to access a 'Geofence' which gives full details o the availability of the electric motorbikes and the locations where they are parked.

From there, users can select the e-bike they are interested in using and interact throughout the trip.

Each bike will have two helmets and users will pay automatically through their account for the length of the journey to the nearest minute. Once the trip is over, the user must leave the motorbike parked within the geographical parking areas which will be outlined in the App or online.

Initially, the service will cover the urban area of Murcia, from the Barrio del Carmen to the Thader and Nueva Condomina shopping centres, as well as the Espinardo and UCAM university campuses, incorporating the districts of Espinardo and Puente Tocinos, amongst others.

"The system is very flexible and allows this parking area (Geofence) to be quickly adapted to the zones requested by the user so that we can respond immediately to their needs," explained Murcia's Councillor for Urban Planning, Andrés Guerrero.

"The agreement we have signed will provide the Town Hall with very useful information on the areas that are most used by users and also on the CO2 saving benefits that this service will bring. The objective is, in the future, to carry out a concession that will allow this sustainable service to be expanded," he added.

According to Gougo Motosharing, advantages of the service include: avoiding traffic jams; easy parking; improving the environment; decongesting public transport; and speedier journeys.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Murcia