ESWE mein Rad | © Allgemeine Zeitung (www.allgemeine-zeitung.de)

ADFC: ESWE Traffic myWheel user-friendly and timely reactivation

ESWE Verkehr has surprisingly announced that it will pause its bicycle rental system "meinRad" at short notice until 30 May 2022. All 600 orange rental bicycles are collected and the cooperation with the Mainz MVG ‘meinRad’ is terminated. The only reason was the lack of efficiency. The ADFC Wiesbaden / Rheingau-Taunus criticizes this radical step at the beginning of the cycling season. This is a setback in urban transport policy.   The bicycle is more trendy in Germany than ever before. The volume of cycling traffic has continued to increase during the coronavirus pandemic and is thus becoming even more important. Wiesbaden has been promoting low-emission mobility for years and has improved its bicycle infrastructure. The last cycling climate test of the ADFC in 2020 showed that the satisfaction of cyclists in Wiesbaden has increased sharply. The range of public bicycles was rated 2.3 (school grade scale) and was well above the average of
Notes.

Good reasons for renting bicycles

The ADFC has long seen great opportunities in easily available rental bikes in cities:

• A low-threshold available rental bike system can attract especially people who previously used the bike little or not at all for bicycle mobility
• A bicycle fleet with city logo or silhouette strengthens city marketing
• Public rental bikes are an attractive offer for commuters, tourists or congress and trade fair visitors and students

Learning from mistakes with the ADFC

The argument of low demand and the associated inefficiencies sounds understandable. The causes are not so much difficult market conditions as conceptual errors, such as the high-threshold registration, technical problems with lock releases and the lack of cooperation with the AStA.
universities. The ADFC offers its support and urges to make changes in the rental system seamlessly and to reactivate ‘meinRad’ in a user-friendly and timely manner.

About the ADFC

The Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club e.V. (ADFC) has more than
200,000 members the largest advocacy group for cyclists
worldwide. He advises on all matters relating to bicycles. Political
The ADFC is committed to the consistent promotion of cycling.