Sables-d’Olonne: Free bike-sharing services launching in Spring 2023

Good news for residents and tourists, the elected officials of Les Sables-d’Olonne have voted to establish around one hundred free-floating bikes in spring 2023.

It’s not just large cities; medium-sized towns also have the right to bike-sharing. The proof with the Les Sables-d’Olonne metropolitan area, which has just invested in bike-sharing with a service expected to be operational in April 2023. Like in other French cities, the principle is simple: residents or tourists will be able to borrow bikes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from one station and return them to another station for an “accessible” fare.

The Les Sables-d’Olonne metropolitan area justifies this new approach as an alternative to individual cars and a supplement to buses, free shuttles, and maritime shuttles, which are already well represented in the city center.

A Significant Investment

At launch, between 14 and 17 stations should be operational, representing around one hundred bikes in free-floating service. This also entails a substantial investment of 350,000 euros, covering the purchase of bikes, their maintenance, and the setup and management of rental stations.

According to Mauricette Maurel, community councilor responsible for transportation and mobility in Les Sables-d’Olonne, “In 2019, we set a goal to increase the share of bike trips from 2% to 8% by the end of the term” (actually 6%, as highlighted by the site actu.fr).

Call for Competition

Yannick Moreau, president of Les Sables-d’Olonne agglomeration, further specifies that the bike-sharing could eventually be deployed in other municipalities within the agglomeration. Similarly, the implementation of the service will allow for a call for tenders to deploy a much more ambitious bike-sharing project with a cost set at 1 million euros.

Nevertheless, this new service could be considered competition by bike rental companies, although Les Sables-d’Olonne agglomeration specifies that the project was developed in consultation with various sector professionals.

Read also: Brest: success of the bike-sharing service returning in 2023