City of Aarau opens bike rental system with 18 stations

Bike sharing is intended to offer an alternative to cars and complement public transport, said Mayor Hanspeter Hilfiker on Friday at the inauguration, which took place at the station in front of Aarau town hall. Shared mobility is a trend and the number of users is steadily increasing.

Following a call for tenders, the city council commissioned Publibike AG as the overall service provider. During the five-year pilot operation, the system is to be continuously expanded and anchored locally together with employers, housing developers and sponsors, it said.

Replacement for short car journeys

One of the partners is the canton of Aargau, which has opened stations at two administrative locations in Aarau. The rental system fits in perfectly with the canton's mobility strategy, said Maurus Büsser, Secretary General of the Department of Construction, Transport and Environment. Over 50 percent of car journeys are shorter than 5 kilometers and bicycles are often faster on such routes.

The 18 stations with currently 130 bikes are all located in the city of Aarau, he said. Around half of the bikes used are electric bikes. Over the next few years, the network is to be expanded to up to 25 stations and 200 bikes.