From Netflix to Swapfiets, subscription bikes are already pedaling in Barcelona

It is increasingly common to abandon the purchase model to switch to rental services or fixed fee payments. We are seeing this in the automotive sector, where rentings and even shared mobility companies like Ubeeqo are making their way into big cities. Now, daily-use bicycles are joining this revolution in Barcelona. The Dutch company Swapfiets, founded in 2014, has opened a store in the Catalan capital offering a long-term bicycle rental service for urban use.

The company, which rents bicycles with distinctive blue wheels, has chosen Barcelona as its starting point in the Spanish market. Swapfiets has over 220,000 users in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Now, in addition to arriving in Barcelona, it is also expanding to Vienna (Austria) and the French cities of Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse.

Swapfiets offers different monthly rates, depending on the bicycle model, and the price includes repair service, if necessary. A classic Dutch-style bicycle can be rented for 16.90 euros per month or a higher-end model with seven speeds for 19.90 euros per month. In a few months, electric bicycles will also be available, which can be rented for 75 euros per month.

"With our innovative concept, we bridge the gap between owning and renting a bicycle and combine the best of both systems. We offer Swapfiets to anyone who wants a bicycle that always works. Swapfiets is for people who like to use a bicycle often, or even every day, but don't want to worry about buying, maintaining, or repairing it. Furthermore, we believe that cities are more livable with solutions like ours, which helps reduce traffic, in addition to being more sustainable than other sales companies, since being a subscription model also reduces waste generation," highlights Richard Burger, one of the three founders of Swapfiets.

The brand's new store in Barcelona, ​​located at Balmes street 61, will employ between 10 and 20 people, including mechanics who will perform home repairs. The goal is to reach 1,000 customers in its first year in the city.

"We are delighted with the opening of this new Dutch company in Barcelona. It fits perfectly with Barcelona's philosophy of a sustainable city and friendly mobility, and we are sure that it will contribute to more sustainable mobility, which is what Barcelona wants to have in the future," comments the director of City Promotion of the Barcelona City Council, Mario Rubert.

The name Swapfiets comes from the words swap (exchange) and fiets (bicycle in Dutch). The subscription can be canceled each month, and in case of repair, if it cannot be resolved in ten minutes, the user has the right to receive a new bicycle immediately.