An insight into Budapest’s evolving bike share system, with OEMBikes as supplier
Comments Off on An insight into Budapest’s evolving bike share system, with OEMBikes as supplierSource: Zag Daily Image credit: Zag Daily
The next generation of the Hungarian capital’s bike share system will be unveiled next month, which will involve e-bikes for the first time. Zag Daily outlines the progress of the Bubi 3.0 project, which has LEVA-EU member OEMBikes as the bicycle supplier.
Budapest is getting ready for a relaunch of one of the most established bike share systems in Europe, which has reportedly had 10 million rides in its lifetime by 2024.
The legacy of the Bubi bike sharing system
After being first introduced in 2014, Bubi has transitioned from a pilot project to being a key part of Budapest’s transportation network. It received an overhaul in 2021, with a new fleet of 1,200 bicycles, which has since grown to 2,500.
According to the public transport authority Budapesti Közlekedési Központ (BKK), in 2025, Bubi recorded over 2.9 million trips at an average of 8,000 per day.
Bubi 3.0
After the end of the previous operating contract in December 2025, BKK launched a new tender for the bike sharing network’s next phase, Bubi 3.0. It partnered up with Inurba Mobility, OEMBikes and Urban Sharing’s fleet platform, with the aim of redesigning and expanding its network, which is scheduled to be rolled out next month.
An exclusive look at Bubi 3.0
BKK and Inburba took Zag Daily behind the scenes, detailing how Bubi is being upgraded.
When describing the next generation of the bike sharing system, BKK’s Senior Product Manager Anna Rónay said the following to Zag Daily:
“Every version of Bubi has had a defining idea attached to it. Bubi 1.0 was the one that started it all and proved that bike sharing works in Budapest. Bubi 2.0 became the popular one where ridership surged. And Bubi 3.0 will be the one for everyone.”
The new Bubi e-bike has been pictured camouflaged, as BKK will be unveiling its design in a few weeks.
The planned implementation of Bubi 3.0
Bikes will be supplied by OEMBikes with management through Urban Sharing’s fleet platform.
The next generation will involve a significant expansion in its fleet size and operational design.
Its contract is 5 years with an option of extension for an additional 18 months.
Initially, there will be a rollout of approximately 3,000 bicycles (around 800 more than the previous Bubi generation) with e-bikes being introduced for the first time. BKK and Inurba are hoping to expand the system to 5,000 bikes next year, and eventually 8,000 if there is enough demand for it.
As well as an increase in the number of bicycles, Bubi’s area coverage will also grow with an anticipated expansion of up to 40 km (doubling the service area of the previous system), once the 5,000 bikes are deployed.
BKK’s Head of Digital Channels Development, Bence Nagy, outlines the goal of the project:
“The goal isn’t to replace personal bikes. It’s to encourage people to use bikes for the first time as part of the wider public transport network and realise how efficient cycling can be.”
Nagy also explains how Bubi 3.0 will be evaluated:
“What drives the system’s growth and direction will be how customers use it. We’ll be looking at how many rides are taken, which of the bikes customers are using – whether mechanical or electric – and where the bikes are being picked up. We’ll scale the fleet based on what we see.”
Bubi using e-bikes for the first time
One of the most notable changes for the upcoming Bubi generation is the introduction of e-bikes, which will unlock a large e-bike sharing dataset that can be used to optimise the system’s efficiency for the long term.
Damien Vander Heyden, Inurba’s Director of Business Development explains how e-bike use will be monitored. “We know that by introducing e-bikes, demand will increase, but we don’t know exactly how and where. This is something we’ll be managing with predictive tools and real-time system monitoring. We’re very curious to see the effect of introducing e-bikes into Budapest.”