Skip to main content

European bike sharing market fuelled by innovations and government support

New research by Frost & Sullivan, European Bike Sharing Market, Forecast to 2025, indicates that the bike sharing fleet will more than double in size from 151,302 units in 2016 to 341,250 units in 2025. Southern and Western Europe have high public bike sharing service (BSS) activity. About 196 cities in Southern Europe have more than 35,000 rental bikes; in Western Europe, 150 cities have nearly 70,000 rental bikes. Spain and France are the strongest markets, but the UK, Germany and Italy are expanding quic
February 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
New research by 2097 Frost & Sullivan, European Bike Sharing Market, Forecast to 2025, indicates that the bike sharing fleet will more than double in size from 151,302 units in 2016 to 341,250 units in 2025. Southern and Western Europe have high public bike sharing service (BSS) activity. About 196 cities in Southern Europe have more than 35,000 rental bikes; in Western Europe, 150 cities have nearly 70,000 rental bikes. Spain and France are the strongest markets, but the UK, Germany and Italy are expanding quickly.

As densely populated urban centres all over the world grapple with issues of rising fuel consumption and carbon emissions, green mobility solutions such as public bike sharing service (BSS) are rising to prominence. This shift away from personal cars towards sustainable mobility solutions is bolstered by the high parking fees, volatile fuel costs and growing congestion in busy urban areas.

Although BSS enjoys escalating demand, high insurance costs could prove a deterrent to its wide-scale adoption. Furthermore, safety guidelines of bike sharing programmes are often not aligned with those mandated by insurance schemes, necessitating deeper analysis and resolution of the insurance issue.

“Urban commuters are considering multiple mobility options to optimise travel time and convenience for short distance travel of less than five kilometres,” said Frost & Sullivan mobility research analyst Debanjali Sen. “Consumer interest has prompted several BSS operators to explore integration of bike sharing with public transit and other modes of shared transport such as car sharing/ride sharing on a unified digital platform for ease of payment and bookings.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Technology overcomes EV range challenges
    February 4, 2013
    According to new analysis from Frost and Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of Global Market for Range Extenders, major challenges currently faced by the electric vehicle (EV) revolve around the inability to provide long range in a single charge as well as the lengthy charging times that can vary from thirty minutes to ten hours. This has limited the number of adopters for EVs. Range extender technology overcomes these challenges, strategically positioned to make strong gains in the EV market. Currently, the mark
  • Opinion: With e-scooters sharing is caring
    April 25, 2022
    Micromobility use is expanding: Voi’s Matthew Pencharz explains why lawmakers need to catch up with the growth of e-scooters in particular and the implications for safety
  • Investors point to bright future for micromobility
    January 23, 2020
    Some big names are looking to invest in transportation companies – and this new confidence in the future of MaaS and micromobility indicates a step change, says Ito World’s Johan Herrlin
  • Kapsch TrafficCom acquires 75 percent of Fluidtime
    January 12, 2017
    Kapsch TrafficCom has taken a 75 per cent stake in Fluidtime Data Services which will enable Kapsch to strengthen its position to act as a platform- and service provider for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) schemes for cities, corporations and transport agencies. Since 2004, Fluidtime has developed and operated software solutions and user-friendly mobile services enabling intermodal urban travelling. Its mobility platform provides urban travelers with real-time information on transport options and multimodal