The Temporary Union of Companies (UTE) formed by Nextbike, Movement, and Movus has been awarded the management of the new metropolitan public bicycle service AMBici, which will begin to be deployed at the end of 2022. The business consortium has won the public tender for 40.5 million euros.
With the forecast that it will be fully deployed in the first quarter of 2023, the service promoted by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and managed by TMB will reach 15 metropolitan municipalities, having up to 2,600 electric bicycles and 236 parking stations. At least, half of the stations will have an electric charging point, while the rest will be energetically autonomous to be able to operate the anchoring system using photovoltaic panels.
For a period of eight years, the business consortium will be responsible for the supply, installation and maintenance of the equipment, the logistics of the bicycles and customer service. To do this, it must carry out the development of the corresponding website and app to make the service more agile for the user, to whom it must also provide insurance coverage (civil liability, theft and vandalism).
Within the deployment plan for new mobility services in the metropolitan area, the AMBici network represents another step in the commitment to public transport and sustainable mobility, as highlighted by the metropolitan authority.
For the moment, the integration of the AMBici network with the homologous service that has been operating for years in the city of Barcelona, Bicing, is not contemplated, but it will be fully integrated with the collective public transport system of the Barcelona metropolis. Therefore, it will facilitate intermodality with other means of public transport, such as the metropolitan bus, metro, tram or railway.
However, TMB has reported that it plans to launch two integration lines between both networks in the short term: bridge or transfer stations for both services. These transfer points would be located in areas bordering Barcelona with the municipalities of Sant Adrià del Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Esplugues de Llobregat. The establishment of shared passes for both services (cross-purchase) is also being considered, with discounts for users of both networks.