España promoverá el uso de la bicicleta pública en las ciudades con apoyo financiero directo
Spain will encourage the use of public bicycles in CITIES with direct aid through a plan equipped with 20 million euros. Pedro Sánchez presented on Thursday a new campaign to promote the use of public transportation. Another 20 million euros in grants will be allocated for companies and individuals to buy electric-assist bicycles.
Public bicycle systems can be defined as loan services that allow you to pick up a bicycle at one point and return it to another. The unidirectionality of its movements is the essential characteristic that distinguishes it from other loan concepts. The implementation of these systems is a phenomenon that has grown exponentially worldwide.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Friday that they will subsidize bicycles as part of the aid for public transportation. «We will incorporate bicycles into public transportation aid, allocate 20 million euros to expand public bicycle systems that are already in operation in several cities,» Sánchez said at an event on Thursday at the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
Within this amount, 10 million euros will be allocated to reduce existing rates in cities – for example, those of BiciMad in Madrid—and another 10 million will be allocated to the implementation of public bicycles in cities that do not yet have this service. «The goal is to increase the percentage of bicycle trips in cities (…) and get more people to use this mode of transportation,» defended the President of the Government.
On the other hand, Sánchez announced that he will promote another package of another 20 million euros to buy electric-assist bicycles, a grant that both individuals and urban delivery companies can benefit from.
Sánchez argued that this is a first step towards achieving «cleaner and more welcoming cities» and also recalled the success of public transportation subsidies already implemented by the Government, such as the subsidy for transportation passes agreed with the autonomous communities, as well as discounts for young people on bus, medium and long-distance train trips, and Interrail this summer.
Therefore, he announced that the Government will support cities that bet on bicycles through laws and economic resources. Specifically, he addressed mayors and asked them «Do not be swayed by climate obscurantism» and «join this movement». «They should stop seeing the bicycle as a ‘progressive’ symbol and see it for what it is, a fantastic mobility alternative for certain cities and times of the year,» he emphasized.
