First comprehensive market figures on bike sharing and subscription models in Germany

Source: Radmarkt

For the first time, official market data has revealed the scale of bike sharing and bicycle subscription services in Germany. According to figures released by the trade association Zukunft Fahrrad (Future Bicycle), there are currently around 115,000 shared bicycles in operation nationwide, including over 57,000 e-bikes and approximately 1,950 cargo bikes, while an estimated 100,000 bicycles are being used through private subscription models.

A shift from ownership to usage

The new data, presented by Wasilis von Rauch, Managing Director of Zukunft Fahrrad, has highlighted a broader mobility trend in Germany: that users are moving away from private ownership toward flexible usage. Subscription and sharing systems offer broader and more equitable access to bicycles with predictable monthly costs that include insurance and maintenance, without the need for large upfront purchases.

Although the number of leased or purchased bicycles remains higher overall, the report notes that shared and subscription-based cycling has surpassed traditional car-sharing in scale. With approximately 45,000 car-sharing vehicles in Germany, there are now more than twice as many private bicycle subscriptions and two and a half times as many shared bicycles in use.

Von Rauch explains the findings, “Attractive sharing and subscription models maximize the use of existing resources. They also get people on bikes who can’t afford their own. With social tariffs, politicians could give even more people access to comfortable bikes. Funds from the Climate Social Plan would be better invested here than exclusively in social leasing of electric cars.”

Integration into public transport

Bike sharing is increasingly seen as an essential component of public transport. Ann-Kathrin Schneider, Managing Director of the German Platform for Mobility Management (DEPOMM), emphasized the importance of rental bikes in German mobility. “Rental bikes now have as much of a place in German cities as buses. About half of users combine them with buses or trains – it’s an important component of local transport infrastructure.”

Many municipalities are now calling for bike-sharing systems to be formally recognized as part of local public transport infrastructure and to receive funding accordingly.

Social and environmental benefits

Von Rauch summarised Zukunft Fahrrad’s findings in the context of German mobility, stating, “Bike sharing and bike subscriptions are no longer a marginal phenomenon, but a key pillar of the transport transition – socially, ecologically, and economically sensible at the same time.”

The full market data can be accessed on the Zukunft Fahrrad website.