Bikeshare Shouldn’t Kick Tourists to the Curb
Barcelona’s bikeshare program excludes non-Spanish visitors. Other cities charge tourists much higher fees to rent two-wheelers. Which policy makes more sense?
Keep walking, tourist: These rental bikes from Barcelona’s Bicing bikeshare service are just for residents.
Photographer: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group EditorialOn my first trip to Barcelona a few weeks ago, I made a beeline for the nearest bikeshare dock. I was excited to explore the Catalan capital’s famous car-light superblocks, and I hoped to do so with the helps of Bicing, Barcelona’s municipal system of shared rental bikes. Even by elevated European standards, Barcelona boasts an impressive network of protected bike lanes.
But no matter what buttons I pushed, I couldn’t manage to unlock a Bicing bike. After a few fruitless minutes, I gave up and girded myself for a day of intensive walking (according to my phone’s pedometer, I covered 12 miles before collapsing into my hotel bed).