Tag Archive: Madrid

  1. Bicimad continue to grow with 19 new stations in six districts to be added in a system expansion

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    Source: Diario De Madrid

    From, October 22, Madrid’s public electric bike system, BiciMAD, will expand to include 19 new stations across six districts: Fuencarral-El Pardo (1 station), Moncloa-Aravaca (4), Puente de Vallecas (5), San Blas-Canillejas (3), Vicálvaro (4), and Villaverde (2). This addition extends the system to the neighborhood of El Cañaveral for the first time, with stations also set up in Ciudad Universitaria, Entrevías, Los Ángeles, Peñagrande, Rejas, San Cristóbal, and Valdezarza. To accommodate the increased coverage, 235 additional bicycles will be available.

    New locations

    This latest expansion strengthens the Madrid City Council and EMT Madrid’s commitment to promoting bicycles as a sustainable transportation option. Supported by NextGenerationEU funds under the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, this phase brings BiciMAD’s total to 630 stations and 7,735 bicycles across all 21 districts.

    The new locations were strategically chosen to enhance service density in high-demand areas and extend coverage to neighborhoods previously lacking bike stations. Many of these selections reflect requests from local councils, ensuring that both existing users and new areas benefit from improved access.

    Highlights include four new stations in El Cañaveral to support local mobility and connect with municipal bus routes, as well as expanded service in Ciudad Universitaria with new stations near key educational facilities. In Entrevías, five additional stations will increase bike availability, while Rejas sees three new stations, including two in Colonia Fin de Semana. Villaverde gains two stations that improve connectivity with the San Cristóbal de los Ángeles commuter train station. New stations in Valdezarza and Peñagrande will address the growing demand in those neighborhoods.

    New station locations:

    • Rosalia de Castro Street, 1 (Peñagrande, Fuencarral-El Pardo)
    • Faculty of Computer Science (University City, Moncloa-Aravaca)
    • UNED Central Library (University City, Moncloa-Aravaca)
    • Juan Andrés Avenue, 21 (Valdezarza, Moncloa-Aravaca)
    • Mayor Martin de Alzaga Street, 11 (Valdezarza, Moncloa-Aravaca)
    • Cultural Center of Tio Raimundo (Entrevías, Puente de Vallecas)
    • Cazorla Street, 79 (Entrevías, Puente de Vallecas)
    • Montiel Street, 27 (Entrevías, Puente de Vallecas)
    • Albarracín Mountains Street, 2 (Entrevías, Puente de Vallecas)
    • Municipal Sports Center of Entrevías (Entrevías, Puente de Vallecas)
    • Arcaute Street, 13 (Rejas, San Blas-Canillejas)
    • Fermina Sevillano Avenue, 23 (Rejas, San Blas-Canillejas)
    • February Street, 4 (Rejas, San Blas-Canillejas)
    • Blas de Lezo Avenue, 33 (El Cañaveral, Vicálvaro)
    • Miguel Delibes Avenue, 49 at Humildad Street (El Cañaveral, Vicálvaro)
    • Victoria Kent Avenue, 9 at Mario Moreno Cantinflas Street (El Cañaveral, Vicálvaro)
    • Mayor Andrés Madrid Dávila Street, 92 (El Cañaveral, Vicálvaro)
    • Eduardo Barreiros Street opposite 110 (Los Angeles, Villaverde)
    • Paterna Street, 55 (San Cristobal, Villaverde)

    Expansion over 10 years

    Launched in 2014, BiciMAD has grown from 1,560 bicycles and 123 stations in central districts to cover all of Madrid’s 21 districts with 7,735 bicycles. This expansion has been accompanied by significant technological upgrades to improve service efficiency and user experience across the city.

  2. Madrid is taking steps to prohibit e-scooters rented through apps

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    Madrid is set to prohibit e-scooter rentals via mobile applications on safety grounds, after the city’s three licensed providers did not adhere to regulations regarding user circulation and parking management, according to the mayor of the Spanish capital.

    Source: The Guardian

    José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced on Thursday that the licenses for Lime, Dott, and Tier Mobility would be revoked starting in October, with no plans to issue new licenses to other companies.

    “The market has proven unable to fulfil the requirements established by the mayor’s office to guarantee the utmost safety for residents,” he stated.

    The “scooter sharing system” has faced criticism in cities globally due to instances of reckless riding and improper parking by users.

    Last year, Paris also banned e-scooter rentals following a public consultation. Since May 2023, the Madrid city council had put regulations in place for the rental e-scooter market, allowing only Dott from Amsterdam, Germany’s Tier Mobility, and US-based Lime, which operates through Uber’s app.

    Each operator was permitted to rent out 2,000 scooters. These companies were required to provide the mayor’s office with access to their data and to implement technology that would ensure customers parked scooters in designated areas and could not rent them in pedestrian-only zones or near historic parks.

    However, the operators did not comply with these requirements, as noted in the statement, which also mentioned they have 20 days to file an appeal.

  3. Madrid Metro announces pilot project for parcel delivery

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    Source: The Mayor

    In an attempt to reduce street traffic, the city is incorporating the underground network into the logistics sector on a trial basis.

    Madrid’s’ regional government, responsible for overseeing the city’s metro network, has announced the launch of a 3-month pilot project that will use some of the underground network for merchandise deliveries. The goal is to reduce the number of cargo vehicles on city streets, easing traffic congestion and reducing pollution.

    The first phase of the project, developed in partnership with courier company GLS Spain, will involve Line 12, located in the southern part of Madrid. A designated train will be used to transport approximately 700 packages daily, operating between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM during off-peak hours.

    The train will only stop at four specified stations, where it will be loaded with goods. Metro Madrid staff will oversee the packages, and the loading/unloading process will be quick, taking only three minutes to avoid disrupting regular metro services.

    Stage two

    In the project’s second phase, set to begin in the last quarter of the year, the same approach will be expanded to Line 3, this time with a different courier company. In this phase, 400 parcels a day will be delivered to Embajadores station, from where they will be distributed to city-centre destinations using eco-friendly methods like bicycles or foot couriers with carts.

    Aligned with this project, the regional government is also working on establishing the future Logistics Agency of the Madrid Region, with the vision of turning the region into a benchmark for the distribution sector across southern Europe.

  4. Madrid takes steps to ban app-rented scooters over safety concerns

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    Source: The Guardian

    E-scooter providers, including Lime, Dott and Tier, Mobility licenses to be cancelled from October due to issues with circulation and parking.

    Madrid will ban app-based e-scooter rentals after the city’s three licensed operators failed to enforce limits on their users’ riding areas and parking, according to the city’s mayor.

    José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced on Thursday that the licenses for Lime, Dott, and Tier Mobility would be revoked starting in October, and no new licenses would be granted to other operators.

    “The market was found to be incapable of meeting the requirements set by the mayor’s office to ensure the highest level of safety for citizens,” he said in a statement. The shared e-scooter system has faced criticism in cities worldwide for reckless driving and improper parking by some users.

    Following a public consultation, Paris banned e-scooter rentals last year.

    Since May 2023, Madrid’s city council had regulated the e-scooter rental market, allowing only Dott, Tier Mobility, and Lime to operate, with each authorized to rent out 2,000 scooters.

    These companies were required to provide the mayor’s office with access to their data and implement technology to ensure scooters were parked in designated areas and not used in pedestrian zones or near historic parks.

    However, the operators failed to comply, the statement said, adding they have 20 days to appeal the decision.

  5. Madrid City Council announces free ebike service

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    Source: El Pais, M. Viejo

    Free BiciMad service announced in run up to municipal elections.

    With Madrid’s municipal elections approaching, Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has announced that the city’s BiciMad public electric bike service will be free from March 7 to July 31 in an unparalleled move to secure favour. The cost of this announcement is expected to amount to 1.7million euros, according to city sources.

    According to the Department of Environment and Mobility, the scheme will be implemented to “encourage cycling mobility in the capital and that citizens can know first-hand the advantages offered by the new public electric bicycle system”. The BiciMad service, now in its eighth year, will expand and cater for all 21 districts, served by the gradual development of new stations and 7,500 new bikes. The budget for the development is 48.8 million euros, of which 60% is by way of European funding.

    The BiciMad service has not been without criticism since its launch. It was reported that 30% of the bikes were not functioning in an August 2021 statement, a period when Director of Mobility Services for the City Council acknowledged, “We’re not going through our best moment”. A report published by eldiario.es in February 2022 stated that 11,000 subscribers had in fact unsubscribed from the service, although there have been some improvements.

    European funding criticism

    There has been some notable disapproval of European funding by Almeida, who in February 2021 announced to a wealth of national media correspondents in Brussels that “The management of European funds must be strengthened!”. Visiting as commander-in-chief of the mayors of the People’s Party (PP), he further exclaimed, “An arbitrary distribution is taking place. I insist, this does not harm the PP, this harms Spaniards. Here we are all equal before the law. We all have to overcome this pandemic and European funds are crucial to do so regardless of where you live and govern. This is what we have done and said in the EU institutions”. However, only two days later, El Pais reported that Almeida renounced tens of millions of euros that were destined to aid Madrid’s housing reforms.

    Bike use on Madrid’s roads

    One component missing from Madrid’s road network are cycle paths. In contrast to many other European cities including several in Spain, in Madrid there is only kilometre of cycle path for every hundred kilometres of public roads – 15% less than Barcelona, for example. Drivers in the Spanish capital are required to adhere to a 30kph speed limit when orbiting a cyclist, although this is largely neglected and a common complaint amongst those using pedal power. Those cities with a higher number of cyclists are deemed safer to use and report an increase in bike use, Seville’s 7% rise being a good example.

    Architect Belén Moneo, who participated in the mobility tables of the City Council, commented to El Pais, “Madrid has not yet shown that it believes in the bike project,”, while despairing remarks came from Esther Anaya at Imperial College London, a professor specialising in urban mobility: “It’s not for lack of technical knowledge. It’s a political issue”.

    The 100% discount on the electric bike service begins on March 7 and concludes on July 31.

  6. LEVA-EU member Dott secures contract to operate e-scooter service in Madrid

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    Source: Micromobilitybiz, A. Ballinger

    The micromobility fleet provider joins Tier and Lime in deploying a sizeable joint fleet of 6,000 vehicles throughout the city.

    Announced in late 2022, Madrid City Council launched its first tender for shared e-scooters in the city. It is now confirmed that the bid has been won by the providers Dott, Tier and Lime collectively. Initial contracts are for an operating time of 3 years, with the potential for extensions in increments of 6 months following the initial period.

    Dott already maintains a fleet of e-bikes in Madrid, which have been operating since March 2021, and provides micromobility services to many key European cities including London, Rome, Stockholm, Brussels and Paris. In Madrid, the brand will be introducing completely new e-scooters, featuring large (12”) wheels for stability, front, rear and indicator lights, and a phone holder.

    Maxim Romain, co-founder and COO of Dott, said: “The launch in Madrid marks a turning point for our service in Spain, and a major increase in the number of vehicles we operate there as we bring efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport to the capital city. We will bring our experience of collaborating closely with city authorities across Europe to ensure that we offer a reliable service for our riders whilst respecting all other road users and pedestrians.” 

  7. Major upgrade for Madrid’s shared e-bike fleet

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    Source: TheMayor.eu, T.V. Iolov

    The city’s e-bike service is seeing extensive development, from rebranding, to payment updates, to anti-vandalism measures. The changes come as Madrid continues to work towards fully unlocking the potential of cycling.

    José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the Mayor of Madrid, has unveiled the newly upgraded iteration of Bicimad, the city’s public electrical bicycle system. Firstly, the network is working towards featuring a total 7,500 e-bikes and 611 stations, reaching all 21 districts of the city. Additionally, the new E-FIT model will be made of recycled aluminium, presenting a more manageable, ergonomic and robust design that substantially improves the user experience.

    Key upgrades:

    • Anti-vandalism design: Tires feature an anti-puncture design, an anti-theft system is integrated into the chassis, and all wires and lights are now integrated into the frame.
    • Maintenance: Bicycles anchored in a parking point are permanently monitored, with physical buttons available for users to indicate that maintenance is required.
    • Payment system upgrade: Payments are now possible through MPass, the system associated with buses, car parks etc. in the city.
    Image: TheMayor.eu

  8. Madrid expands e-bike service

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    Source: TheMayorEU, T.V. Iolov

    Authorities are eager to continue the city’s development into a truly cycling-friendly location.

    In 2014, the BiciMAD scheme launched in Madrid, a 100% electric bicycle public service. Now, close to 10 years after its launch, the service will expand into all of the capital’s districts during 2023. This updated service is in line with the ambitious Madrid 360 Environmental Strategy.

    18 million euros is provided to the project by the municipality, with a further 30 million euros provided by the European Union’s Next Generation fund; these resources will be used for the renewal of the e-bike fleet, parking stations, and digital software. The parking points where bikes can be picked up and dropped off will more than double – from 264 to 611, and 4,600 two-wheelers will be added for a total of 7,500 available to residents and guests of the city.

    A particularly noteworthy software update is the development of non-permanent virtual parking stations, which will be used to cover specific large events or quickly service high-demand areas. In a lively city such as Madrid, this allows the service to properly cater to an area’s evolving needs.

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