Cycle Gandia
A New Form of Public Transport in Gandia!
Since its official launch at the beginning of May, a new form of public transport has been available to the citizens of Gandia – public access bicycles. The scheme – called “labici” – was piloted for two weeks prior to the official launch on May 1st, during which time the first 500 users signed up to the scheme.
This is an innovative system that Gandia is embracing wholeheartedly, with a total of 500 bicycles available at 40 pick-up and drop-off points around Gandia and Playa de Gandia. This makes Gandia the town with the largest number of bicycles per thousand of the population in the whole of the country. Currently, for the months of April and May, the annual subscription is reduced from €30 to only €10 – one of the lowest costs in the entire Comunidad Valenciana.
Normal subscription costs are €30 (annual), €10 (monthly), €5 (weekly) or a €3 daily rate. “labici” is to be used as an alternative system of transport in and around the town, however, and not as a means of renting bicycles for recreational purposes. Once taken from a pick-up point, a bicycle may be used for the next hour, and it must then be returned to a drop-off point. After a 5 minute gap, you can then pick up another one.
Users of the scheme must register themselves on the system – either on-line at www.labici.gandia.org or at the council offices in Carrer Tossal – if they wish to have one of the season tickets. Those wishing only a daily ticket can obtain these from the machines at the pick-up points. Season ticket holders must enter their personal code numbers at the pick-up points in order to take a bicycle.
So far, the scheme has been a stunning success, exceeding all expectations. Cycle lanes have been increased around the town to accommodate the new system, and the original idea of 250 cycles at 20 points has been doubled to the current 500 units at 40 points. More significantly, the enthusiasm of Gandia’s residents can be seen by the fact that, up to Tuesday May 11th, some 3,500 users had already registered themselves for the scheme. Users can also check availability of cycles on-line before they start their trip. The real-time situation can be seen at any pick-up point by clicking on the relevant location on the map. The number of cycles currently available for use at that point – as well as the number of empty slots available to deposit a cycle – is then displayed. The user can therefore be sure that not only will a bicycle be available to collect at his start point, but also that there will be a slot for him to return the bike to at the destination location.
This is yet another innovative idea to improve the general movement of people in and around the Gandia area. The “Urba” public bus service has already been a very successful scheme around the town, and “labici” is seen as a compliment to existing transport options so that people can make short trips around the town in a much more flexible manner, filling in the gaps and serving areas that have until now been left out of public transport routes. Other towns in the La Safor region are already looking with interest to see how “labici” is received, possibly with a view to instigating similar schemes in their own municipalities.
