Bike-sharing in Valletta to become cheaper

The measure concerns motorbikes and bikes

Residents and visitors of Valletta may soon enjoy lower fares for the local shared vehicles, announced the local authority. During a meeting on Tuesday, the Local Council of the Maltese capital discussed a project aiming to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate the parking problems in the city. The project was put forward by councillor Jurgen Briffa and suggests that locals and tourists should be stimulated to use more shared vehicles with special rates at Ioscoot (electric Motorbike sharing) and Tallinja bike (electric bicycles). The exact drop in price has not been announced as of yet.

Currently, IoScoot requires users to pay 25 cents per minute while riding, therefore  - with no fixed charges, it depends only on how long customers ride. Motorbike sharing is based on an online platform. The service was launched in July 2018 as a trial in partnership with Malta Public Transport. It is believed to enhance convenient and flexible urban mobility which is an issue on the island country.

As for the bike-sharing service, it operates in Valletta and its surroundings. It allows users to borrow a bike from a docking station and return it to another one belonging to the same system. Bikes are rent at a regular price of 3 euros per 30 minutes which are counted only while the vehicle is in use. Apart from the positive effects for the environment in terms of reduced emissions, cycling is a wonderful exercise and contributes considerably to everyone's well-being.