Madrid expands bike service to all corners of the city

The authorities are now eager to transform the Spanish capital into a truly cycling-friendly environment

Madrid used to be a city not made for bicycles, but things have changed a lot in the past decade after the introduction of the BiciMAD, a 100% electric bicycle public service back in 2014. Now things are progressing to the next stage with the recent announcement that the service will be expanded in order to become available in all of the capital’s districts in 2023.

The objective is that anyone who wants to move around the city with BiciMAD can do so in the best conditions of use and accessibility.

New functionalities will be added as well

Comprehensive convenience will finally be at reach for all the Madrileños, something that is sorely needed if the city truly aims to engender a sustainable mobility revolution on its territory, in line with the ambitious Madrid 360 Environmental Strategy.

The European Union is helping out with 30 million euros from the Next Generation funds, and another 18 million will be added by the municipality. The money will go for the renewal of the bicycle fleet, the parking stations and the user mobile app 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.

What’s more, the service promises expansion in capabilities as well with the addition of some new functions.

The new BiciMAD will gradually incorporate new functionalities that respond to the circumstances of a lively, dynamic and cosmopolitan city like Madrid. One of them, for example, is the development of virtual stations to cover specific events or quickly serve high-demand areas.

The transformation of BiciMAD also reaches the customer experience and payment methods, as the service is integrated into MPass, the unique identity system developed by the EMT (local public transit operator), which already works in the Madrid Mobility 360 application.

Thanks to MPass, the user will associate their identity with a payment method, so they will no longer have to top up their balance to use the service. A new flexible subscription model will also be introduced, adapted to the personal mobility needs of the user, who will be able to choose the annual or occasional mode (1, 3 or 5 days).