The city bike season will end in Helsinki and Espoo on Sunday 31 October. In November, city bikes and bike stations will be tucked away and serviced for the next season.
During the past season, about 2.8 million journeys were made with the city bikes in Helsinki and Espoo, about 2.4 million in Helsinki and 0.4 million in Espoo.
About 50,000 users registered for the whole season, nearly as many as last year. Occasional use of the bikes has increased. During the past season, there were about 23,000 day pass users and about 5,000 weekly pass users, which is a couple of thousand more than last year.
Usage of the bikes has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. This year, the number of journeys made was nearly 30 percent lower than in 2019. Approximately four journeys were made per bike every day in Helsinki, and approximately two journeys per bike in Espoo.
The city bike service was extended in Helsinki in May/June 2021 when 105 new stations and 1,050 new bikes were introduced. This year, the Helsinki and Espoo city bike service provided users with 457 bike stations and 4,570 city bikes.
City bikes increasingly used for exercise
In the customer survey, nearly one third of users said that they had used the bikes less than before. Most of these users said that they had moved around less than before because of decreased commuting and leisure journeys.
Only eight percent of the respondents stated they had used city bikes less because of electric scooters. A third of the respondents stated that their use of city bikes had increased: many of them had opted to use city bikes instead of public transport or had opted for city bikes to get exercise.
A significant number of the respondents said that they make part of their journey by public transport and use city bikes for the other part. As before, the bikes were mostly used for leisure travel but also for personal business journeys and commutes. Up to 27 percent of the respondents stated that they had used the bikes to do physical exercise compared to 15 percent in 2019.
Satisfaction with the service was slightly higher than in the previous year. The level of user fees and their clarity received the highest ratings from users. Registering as a user and buying a pass also received good ratings.
Returning of the bikes was identified as a development area. The condition and availability of the bikes, which received poor ratings last year, had clearly improved. The city bike operator has improved bike maintenance and the number of bikes increased thanks to the extended service area in Helsinki. The recommendation score of the service is very good at 55.
HSL, HKL, the Cities of Helsinki and Espoo, CityBike Finland and the city bike sponsor Alepa want to thank all city bike users for the past season.