Citiz: When car-sharing offers cargo bicycles in Lyon

Bike-sharing service, Citiz expands mobility to other vehicles by introducing cargo bikes in its offering in Lyon.

Owning a car is no longer a necessity. You can buy one, or rent it through LOA or LLD for short-term investments. For those seeking occasional use, car-sharing is the solution, again focused solely on cars. Citiz thinks differently.

Cargo bike sharing arrives in Lyon

Present in 140 cities across France, Citiz is a well-established car-sharing service with 1,600 vehicles. These vehicles are small city cars like Fiat Panda, similar to Toyota Yaris, or minibuses such as the Renault Kangoo.

In the Lyon metropolitan area, Citiz has over 40 stations with car-sharing vehicles. However, a trend is emerging with the increasing urban use of bicycles. To fill the mobility gap with more eco-friendly options while maintaining significant loading capacity, cargo bikes are enhancing the Citiz LPA service. Indeed, three of these bikes are joining stations at Parc Cordeliers and Parc Les Halles in February 2022.

These cargo bikes are based on Danish Nihola tricycles. They feature a front loading area accepting up to 100 kg of goods or 4 small children on the benches. The bikes are electric-assisted to support the extra weight. The rear motor is powered by a 375 Wh battery, providing about 40 km of autonomy.

What is the rental price for Citiz shared cargo bikes?

Citiz LPA Grand Lyon offers a more attractive price than for cars. Cargo bikes are available to rent for 7 euros for 2 hours, compared to at least 9 euros for the smallest car.

It is also possible to rent by the day for 34 euros, but this is barely cheaper than a car (36 euros/day). A subscription offer of 16 €/month reduces the rates to 4 euros/2h or 20 euros/day.

Additionally, this is not the first time Citiz has deployed this type of mobility. The service has already been offering two cargo bikes in Angers since 2020.

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