Bike rental system is now available in São Paulo
Users will be able to ride for up to thirty minutes without breaks
The city of São Paulo has a new sustainable transport option. The Bike Sampa bicycle rental system, operated by Serttel/Sampa companies and with the support of Banco Itaú, was recently inaugurated.
Bike Sampa is composed of intelligent stations that are connected to an operations center via wireless, powered by solar energy and are spread over strategic points in São Paulo. Registered customers will be able to pick up a bike and make as many trips as they like and then return the skinny one at any of the program's stations.
For R$ 10, customers can purchase the Bike Sampa Pass, valid for 30 days of use. For up to 30 minutes, you can use the bike freely. However, you must return it after this deadline and wait another 15 minutes to use it again. For every half hour that the user takes the bike without returning it at one of the stations, an extra fee of R$5 will be charged. The purchase of the pass can be made via credit card.
The expectation is that customers will be able to access the availability of bikes and bicycle racks via cell phone or the internet. In addition, the project also provides for the sharing of three thousand bicycles at 200 stations throughout the city by the end of 2012. See the project to implement stations here.
Project
The Bike Sampa project aims to introduce bicycles as a non-polluting public transport model, combat sedentary lifestyles, reduce traffic jams and air pollution and promote the humanization of urban space and social responsibility among people, according to with its creators.
Those who want to become customers can register on the website www.bikesampa.com. Users will be able to use the bikes every day of the week from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, for 30 minutes without breaks and as many times as they wish in the day. After the specified time, customers will be able to park the equipment at any station.
For now ten stations are available for renting bicycles in the Vila Mariana neighborhood, located in the south of São Paulo.
