Ecobici (Mexico City)

Ecobici is the bicycle sharing system launched in February 2010 by the government of Mexico City.[1] Initially launched with 85 docking stations and 1,000 distinctive red and white liveried bicycles, the network then expanded by September 2013 to be at 276 stations with 4,000 bicycles,[2] and as of April 2015, now has 444 stations with 6,000 bicycles.[3]

Ecobici logo
Ecobici rental station at Paseo de la Reforma
Ecobici payment kiosk at rental station

History
Ecobici bicycles at a docking station

From September through December 2012, the system area expanded from 6.8 to 21 square kilometres (2.6 to 8.1 sq mi), which would bring the estimated number of users from 30,000 in September 2012 to 100,000.[4] And indeed, statistics from August 2013 showed 95,780 members registered; daily ridership averaged 25,000, versus 14,000 in December 2012; monthly ridership averaged 400,000.[5]

By October 2013, the system covered the areas:[6]

In February 2014 it was announced that the system would be extended (Phase IV) with 2600 additional cycles and 170 new stations in the Benito Juárez borough, in the area bordered by Viaducto, Avenida Cuauhtémoc, Circuito Interior and Avenida Revolución, covering the colonias:[7]

Operation

The system is run by a private company, Clear Channel Outdoor, but[8] funded by the government with an initial investment of 75 million pesos (US$5,750,000). Users of the system are required to purchase an RFID card at a cost of 521 pesos (US$26) which will provide them with access to the bicycles for one year. For tourists, a 7-day card can be obtained for 391 pesos, a 3-day card for 234 pesos, and a single day card for 118 pesos. A smart phone app is also available that uses a QR code scan to rent the bikes. The app is created and managed by Lyft. Use of a bicycle is free for the first 45 minutes; extra charges are applied for use beyond this time limit.

The registration process has been simplified considerably but this is not well known. Updated Ecobici station readers have a credit card slot at the bottom. You can register and pay (with any credit card) very simply by answering a few questions on the screen - no ID required, no passports, no forms to sign. Once you register on the screen, you are given a registration number and you put in your own PIN code. You can then get a bike at any station just using that registration number and PIN.

References
  1. "Ecobici" (in Spanish). Ecobici. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  2. Jesús de León Torres (September 2013). "Nuevas estaciones de EcoBici" [New Ecobici stations]. km0 (in Spanish).
  3. |language=Spanish
  4. "Gobierno del Distrito Federal concluirá administración con 42 km de ciclovías (in spanish)". Excelsior. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  5. Karla Mora (9 September 2013). "Aumenta el número de usuarios de Ecobici" [Number of Ecobici riders increases]. El Universal.
  6. Ecobici map (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2013, retrieved October 2, 2013
  7. "Expandirán Ecobici en 22 colonias de Benito Juárez" [Ecobici to expand to 22 neighborhoods in Benito Juárez borough] (in Spanish). El Universal. 2014-02-19.
  8. "North America's Newest and Largest Year-round Service Opens in México City". MetroBike. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
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