Illustration of bicycles parked in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, on May 11, 2021. – E. Frisullo / 20 Minutes
- Within 4 years, a fleet of 10,000 bicycles will be made available free of charge to 18-24 year olds in financial difficulty, including 400 from September.
- A call for tenders will be launched by the Metropolis to find the integration company which will be responsible for recovering old bicycles, repairing them and lending them to young people.
- Initially, first-year scholarship students and young people in integration may be loaned a bicycle for a year or more.
“It will be the largest fleet of long-term loan bikes in France”. This Tuesday morning, the environmental president of the Lyon Metropolis Bruno Bernard announced the establishment of a new device from the start of the school year intended to promote the mobility of young people in precarious situations. Within four years, a fleet of 10,000 bicycles will be made available to the most needy 18-24 year olds, including 400 in September.
A call for tenders will be launched soon by the Metropolis to find the integration company whose mission will be to recover unused bicycles, to restore them and lend them to young people. To obtain supplies, the chosen structure will be able in particular to approach companies benefiting from an aging fleet of bicycles, impoundments containing bicycles or individuals letting their two-wheelers languish in the cellar. The old Indigo self-service bicycles, a system that did not work, “could be reconditioned in this context”, specifies the vice-president of the Metropolis in charge of Mobility, Fabien Bagnon, very enthusiastic about this project.
Scholarship and integration students
“This device ticks all the boxes. This is both local recycling, rehabilitation through reintegration and a mobility solution for these young people who have financial problems ”, adds Vice-President EELV. Initially, two types of public will be able to benefit from the loan of bicycles, for one year or more. “It will be aimed first at first-year scholarship students then at young adults in integration and we will deploy this system over the next four years”, adds Bruno Bernard, concerned, via “this mobility aid”, ” encourage cycling ”.
This new measure, valued at 4 million euros, is in fact part of a global framework imagined by the Metropolis to boost two-wheeled journeys in the city. An objective which, beyond the bicycle fleets, is also based on cycling facilities and the creation of secure parking on roads or in public car parks.
Multiply bicycle trips by three
Every year for the past ten years, two-wheeled traffic has increased by 15% in the metropolitan area and has jumped by 30% in 2020, boosted in particular by the health situation. Last year, 35 million bicycle trips were recorded in the region and the 35 million mark should be reached in 2021. “By 2026, we want to triple trips by bicycle”, adds the president of the Metropolis. To achieve this, Bruno Bernard is counting in particular on the Réseau Express Vélos, which he plans to unveil in June.