Nextbike

nextbike
legal form	GmbH
founding	2004
Seat	Leipzig Germany
management	Leonard von Harrach
Number of employees	271 (2017)
sales	EUR 17.6 million (2017)
Branch	Bike rental
Website	www.nextbike.de/de/

The Nextbike GmbH (proper spelling nextbike ), based in Leipzig is an established in 2004 bike rentals . In 2018, the bikes could be rented in over 200 cities around the world. Nextbike offers station-based systems, flex zones and hybrid systems.

Companies

The company was founded in 2004 by Ralf Kalupner and Markus Denk; it operates as a full-service provider of public bike rental systems (bike sharing). Nextbike develops, produces, sells and operates bike rental systems at more than 50 German locations and worldwide. a. in Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, and Croatia. The bike rental systems are a supplement to local and long-distance public transport (ÖPNV). The production of the hardware (bicycles, terminals, stands) takes place primarily in Leipzig. A large number of components are obtained from suppliers around the world. The company distinguishes between two business models: in-house operation and licensing. In the latter case, the systems (hardware) are completely sold to an operator; Nextbike takes over i. d. Usually the software-based control of these systems. In its own operation, the hardware is the beneficial property of Nextbike; this system is operated entirely in-house and generates income from contractual relationships with municipalities or transport companies, advertising marketing (via advertising on the bicycle frame ) and the rental of bicycles.

Locations

In Germany (selection)

Berlin

In the German capital, nextbike has signed a user agreement with the Berlin Senate that financially supports the rental system with 7.5 million euros . It is to go through a trial phase over five years. On the one hand, nextbike has been active since 2016, on the other hand there is a cooperation with the music streaming service Deezer , which operates its bikes as Deezer nextbike . Both rental companies work with fixed rental stations in busy places, mostly close to the city center. Demand is particularly high at Europaplatz at Berlin Central Station , Alexanderplatz and the Brandenburg Gate . Initially, it was planned that nextbike would set up around 720 stations, all of which, however , would have to be approved individually by the district authorities for special use on public roads . That is why there are only 280 stations available by the end of April 2019 , the number of bicycles should be 5,000 at the end of the expansion, currently 2,600 are in use. The slow approval is attributed to the fact that the stations have to keep a greater distance from monuments, sidewalks or green spaces and it has to be checked whether the minimum size for a bicycle parking space is available and whether this does not pose a risk to the general public on site. An extension of the five-year contract by at least three years is to be expected , according to the Senate representative Ingmar Streese (The Greens).

Nuremberg

Around 750 rental bikes have been available in Nuremberg since spring 2011. The rental bikes could be rented around the clock at 66 stations with a rental terminal. In the medium term, an expansion to the neighboring city of Fürth was planned. However, in 2018 Nextbike ceased operations for economic reasons.

Since June 2019 Nextbike has been operating a new bike rental system under the name VAG_Rad together with the local transport company VAG . This currently includes 32 fixed stations and a flex zone in the entire inner city area within the Ringstrasse , where bikes can be rented and returned without a fixed station. 1,500 bikes are available for this. Since the start, 25,000 people have registered and made over 200,000 journeys.

Nextbike station in Mannheim

Ruhr area

The metropolradruhr ( own spelling ) started in June 2010 in the Ruhr area as the largest bike rental system in Germany. By 2012, 3,000 rental bikes had been made available in ten cities. Ten cities from the Ruhr area, including Dortmund , Bochum , Essen and Oberhausen, are linked in this project . The special thing about this bike rental system is the cross-city use of the rental bikes.

Rhine-Neckar

VRNnextbike is the bike rental system in the Rhein-Neckar transport association. The following cities belong to the regional system (selection): Bensheim, Bürstadt, Dossenheim, Frankenthal, Heidelberg, Heddesheim, Heppenheim, Hockenheim, Kaiserslautern, Ladenburg, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Schwetzingen, Speyer, Weinheim, Worms. As with Metropolradruhr, the bikes can be used across cities.

Further

Bremen: nextbike has been cooperating with the Weser-Kurier and BSAG since June 2018. It can also be used beyond the Bremen border.

Cologne: nextbike has been cooperating with the Cologne public transport company (KVB) since 2015. For VRS chip card holders, the first 30 minutes per bike rental are included (with the exception of student tickets). In Cologne, as in Leipzig and Dresden, there is a defined zone in which bicycles can be returned (and borrowed again) flexibly at every street corner.

Bonn: nextbike has been cooperating with Stadtwerke Bonn Verkehrs-GmbH since October 2018. Registration with Nextbike in Bonn is associated with an immediate payment by the customer of 3 euros, which can then be used as a starting credit (as of December 2019). This payment is due again every further year, provided that the customer still uses the offer. As in Cologne, VRS subscription customers receive 30 free bicycle minutes per day, which can be divided over the day. In Bonn there is also the possibility of returning and renting bikes flexibly throughout the city.

Freiburg im Breisgau: Nextbike launched Frelo in May 2019 . The contract with Freiburger Verkehrs AG runs until 2024 and costs the city 300,000 euros a year. The 400 bicycles can only be returned to the 56 fixed stations. Holders of a regional card subscription as well as students of the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg and the music academy can use the bicycles for free for the first 30 minutes.

Düsseldorf: As in Cologne and Bonn, the urban area is a flex zone , in which bikes can be rented and returned without being tied to a station.

In other European countries (selection)

Austria

Nextbike rental station in Katzelsdorf train station , Lower Austria, of the Mattersburger Bahn

In Burgenland around Lake Neusiedl , the Nextbike bike rental system has been implemented and continuously expanded since 2007. Since 2010, the Lower Austrian provincial government has also been trying to establish a comprehensive network of rental stations in Lower Austria . The system is operated by the Lower Austria Energy and Environment Agency . In Austria, Nextbike is introducing and implementing a bicycle rental system in rural areas for the first time in Europe.

In Innsbruck , a bike rental system was also created in April 2014 with the Innsbruck city bike, which is also set up and operated jointly by Nextbike and the Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe . If this is successful in Innsbruck, an expansion to other cities in Tyrol is planned.

The Klagenfurt bike rental system nextbike Klagenfurt was put into operation in May 2017 with 10 stations and 60 bicycles and expanded to 32 stations in 2018. In May 2019, another 10 stations were added, so that a total of 220 smart rental bicycles are currently available at 42 stations in Klagenfurt and some surrounding communities. So far (as of July 2019) approx. 6400 users registered and a total of approx. 30,000 rentals recorded. The operator is the state capital Klagenfurt am Wörthersee.

Poland

At the Nextbike Polska sp.z oo that the rental system in Warsaw Veturilo operates Nextbike has a 25 percent.

Switzerland

Nextbike has been cooperating with Rent A Bike in Switzerland since August 2009 . This project 2011 3000 Leihvelos were (by the year Velos call the Swiss their bikes) offered nationwide. The Nextbike bike rental system is active in various Swiss regions. B. in cooperation with Caritas Lucerne under the name Take a Bike .

Spain

In November 2018, nextbike opened an e-bike system in Bilbao. Nextbike took over the operation of Bilbaobizi together with the Spanish mobility service provider Sagalés. The existing rental system has been replaced with e-bikes so that comfortable cycling can be guaranteed despite the challenging topographical conditions. By spring 2019, 450 e-bikes will be available at 40 stations. The motor supports up to 50 km and is charged at the station stand.

Cooperation partner

In Berlin, nextbike rents out bicycles under the name Deezer nextbike . A corresponding cooperation agreement has existed with the audio streaming service Deezer since 2017 , which had set up more than 100 rental stations in Berlin by the end of 2018. According to its own information, Deezer has 12 million active users in more than 185 countries who can easily rent bikes by linking their accounts with Nextbike in the German capital.

Nextbike has started a joint Germany-wide cooperation with the credit card company Visa Inc. under Bikes and Deals - Participants register via the nextbike app and receive credit for trips with nextbike for certain transactions with a VISA card. In Frankfurt am Main, Visa as a sponsor can be recognized on all advertising spaces by the rental bikes there.

functionality

Information column at a rental station in Essen-Steele (2016)

One-time registration takes place via the app, by phone or via the Internet. The loan and return is possible via app, Hotline or at the rental terminal. The current locations of the bikes can be found in the app and on the Internet. If the item is returned within half an hour and for every additional half hour, the loan costs one euro - from the 5th hour the day loan begins for a price of nine euros. The rental bikes are suitable for one-way trips, as the rental bike can be borrowed at one station and returned at another station. In all cities there are clearly defined stations that are designed differently depending on the city. In some cities such as B. Marburg there are clearly defined stations marked by signs. In Cologne, Bonn, Dresden or Leipzig there is a defined zone in which bikes can be returned (and rented again) flexibly at every street corner.

When borrowing via the app, the QR code must first be scanned. The lock then opens automatically, depending on the type of bike, or a numerical code is transmitted via the app with which the lock can be opened. The bikes can be parked in different places during the entire rental period. The return can be made via app, bike computer, terminal or hotline. The bikes are checked and serviced on site by service staff at regular intervals.

The bicycles are either set up freely or in specially manufactured parking facilities / stations with information stele and bicycle hangers, such as in Tübingen. NorisBike in Nuremberg has rental terminals with communication units at which bikes can be rented and returned with a customer card on a display. The users include commuters and tourists, but also local residents who regularly use the “public bicycle” in their everyday chain of journeys. In the cold season (usually from the beginning of November to the end of February) nextbike takes a winter break in some places. H. a reduced fleet is available there. In most cities, however, the bikes can be used all year round.

The bikes are equipped with a three- or seven-speed gear hub and a luggage basket , which, like a postal bike , is firmly attached to the frame and thus enables comfortable steering even under heavy loads. Since 2014 nextbike has also been offering SmartBikes with on-board computers and fork locks, which make borrowing even easier. The bikes are assembled in Leipzig.

Web links

Commons : Nextbike - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b annual financial statements for the 2017 financial year; viewed on 1; December 2019 at www.unternehmensregister.de

↑ Nextbike website , accessed November 1, 2018.

^ Nextbike website

↑ locations . Nextbike website, accessed May 12, 2016.

↑ Peter Neumann: The blue-gray network grows only slowly. In: Berliner Zeitung , May 14, 2019, p. 12.

↑ Norisbike website

↑ Nordbayern.de Rental bikes in Fürth temporarily out of order

↑ New flex zone and 1,500 bikes on vagrad.de, June 9, 2020, accessed on June 10, 2020

↑ One year VAG_Rad: More bikes, more stations, larger flex zone on nordbayern.de, from June 9, 2019, accessed on June 10, 2020

↑ Bike rental in your area. Bike rental in the Ruhr area. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .

↑ VRR website ( Memento from September 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

↑ VRNnextbike website

↑ Partner of KVR-rad

↑ Prices and tariffs in Bonn at nextbike.de, added December 21, 2019

↑ Get on your bike! Reach your destination quickly, flexibly and emission-free with the rental bike

↑ So the next bike bikes are collected again on www.generalanzeiger-bonn.de.

↑ Freiburg bike rental system Frelo started - free trial rides on the opening weekend. Retrieved May 17, 2019 .

↑ Christian Engel: Freiburg's "Frelo" bike rental system should go into operation in mid-2019. In: badische-zeitung.de . December 21, 2018, accessed December 23, 2018 .

↑ Fabian Kern: The "Frelo" bike rental system starts in the middle of the year. In: rdl.de . February 7, 2019, accessed March 10, 2019 .

↑ City bike as a pilot for all of Tyrol , article in the Tiroler Tageszeitung from May 1, 2014; accessed on March 9, 2020.

↑ nextbike Klagenfurt. Retrieved October 21, 2019 .

↑ Rent a Bike Switzerland website

↑ bahnonline.ch: "nextbike": new bike rental system launched 27 August, 2009.

↑ velojournal.ch: Boom in bike rental systems ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Edition 5/2009@1@ 2