the experience of Faro was shared at the II Forum Cities and Towns with Shared Public Bicycles – Sharing Experiences of Systems that took place on the 20th of July, at Espaço Jardim de Verão (EMEL), at Quinta das Conchas/Lisbon.
Since June, the Algarve capital has 75 bicycles (25 electric and 50 conventional), in the city and parish of Montenegro (Gambelas and Praia de Faro).
«We were at this event, organized by the Portuguese Federation of Cycling Tourism and Bicycle Users (FPCUB), seeking to highlight the success and importance of this pilot project, the first to be implemented in an Algarve city», explains Sophie Matias, councilor of the City Council. in Faro, who represented the municipality at this event.
«We made an investment of close to 200 thousand euros (precisely 199.050 euros, plus VAT), which allows everyone who lives or visits our city to have a means of transport that is more environmentally friendly and conducive to physical well-being», adds the mayor.
«We already had scooters and we are making considerable investments in creating clickable infrastructure, investing in road safety strategies, because we really want to be a capital of the future, which is concerned with lowering pollution levels and maintaining a relationship with the ecosystems, that brings progress and attractiveness», he says.
This was, in fact, one of the key points of this initiative, in which several municipalities and entities were present.
The presentation of good practices was one of the main objectives, as well as the debate on topics such as: intermodality applied to ticketing and the use of these means of transport; the sustainability of these systems the contribution they make to the sustainability of mobility in cities; maximizing the possibilities of maintaining stations with an adequate level of supply and the business model of bicycle-sharing systems.
«Our experience, although it has a short period of duration, is already a success, with very significant levels of use and feedback very positive, on the part of the users", emphasized Sophie Matias, reinforcing that "Faro has great potential at this level and we will do everything in our power to continue to be a pioneer in the implementation of programs and initiatives related to smooth and sustainable mobility».
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