All about Bicing, Barcelona's Bike Subscription Service
Cycling is a great way to get to know the city and in the process you’ll be fitter, happier and healthier. Research shows cycling works wonders both mentally and physically. You might not be cycling 20 kilometers a day, but every little bit helps! And, with a network of over 240 kilometers of cycling lanes (and growing), Barcelona is more accessible than ever to cyclists, allowing you to get wherever you are going quickly and safely via designated biking lanes.
No bike? No Problem!
There are a number of bike subscription services available, including the very affordable Bicing plan that the city offers. You’re probably already familiar with Barcelona’s bright red Bicing bikes zipping around the city. It’s a public ride-sharing concept that has caught on in cities around the world. For a flat rate of €50, you can get a full subscription to Bicing bikes, giving you two-wheeled access to all 10 districts in Barcelona. You can take as many trips as you like, with no additional charges incurred as long as you don’t take longer than a half hour.
Because this service is provided by the city, it is for residents only, so in order to be able to sign up you’ll need to have your NIE first.
How to Get Started
- Download the app Smou and register to use the Bicing service. It will take around 10 days for your Bicing card to arrive, but don’t worry you can just use the app until then.
- Check the Bicing Map online or in the app, to see where your nearest available Bicing bike is.
- Either scan the QR code on your chosen bicycle using Smou, or scan your Bicing card. Wait for the yellow light to turn green and you’re away.
- Ride wherever and park up at one of the 519 Bicing stations in the city. Check you have returned the bike correctly by inserting your card or checking the journey status in the Smou app.
The Bicing Experience
The Pros
With 133,000 users and 7,000 bikes, there must be some reason people are signing themselves up!
It’s cheap. There’s no denying that €50 for endless transport around the city for a year is a pretty impressive bargain.
It looks great. Always looking for ways to make yourself seem more cool, more attractive, better dressed? The lack of speed may be inconvenient but it will give you a certain laid-back aura. Embrace the bold aesthetic.
Cycling home. Plan on going out? Since you can’t booze and bike, with Bicing you can bike to your chosen evening destination, leave it and forget about it. When it’s time to go home you can catch a ride with friends or make your way back by bus, metro, taxi or on foot.
No risk of your bike being stolen. Barca’s elevators tend to be small so getting your bike upstairs can be a nightmare. Bikes on the street get stolen all the time and you usually need two bike locks. With the Bicing you can take it easy since once you’ve returned your bike you don’t have to give it a second thought.
Bicing enthusiast Christof Damian tells us, “I just love cycling in the city. It's the best and quickest way to get around. And you don't have to worry about your own bike getting stolen when you go to the shops or out in the evening.”
The Cons
Some Bicing subscribers don’t stick with it and here are some reasons why.
Bike availability. Sometimes bikes might not be available in your area. Many people happily ride the Bicing bikes downtown to work in the morning and then don’t bother tackling the hill on their way back up. This means that the bikes are often distributed unevenly by the end of the day and they have to be redistributed at night. Even then, sometimes bikes are unavailable in some areas. One former Bicing user, Charles complains, “Sometimes that happens, sometimes that doesn’t happen. Often on Saturday or Sunday morning, it’s hard to find a bike.”
Bike damage. These bikes are open to use by all of Barcelona’s citizens: the good, the bad and the ugly. For this reason, sometimes the bikes get damaged and left unrepaired at the stations.
Bulky bikes. These are not dainty, precious road bikes, nor would you expect them to be. One user tells us “they’re old, they’re clunky, they’re worn.”
The Bikes
The tires are made of stern stuff, with double-walled aluminum rims and puncture-resistant casing you will be safe from a flat tire.
With only three gears, an adjustable seat and automated lights, the “bicis” are practical but by no means the height of technology.
Bicing Business
Picturing yourself meandering through the streets of Barna, exploring what the city has to offer? The first 30 minutes is included in your subscription plan, but be aware that for the next two hours there is a €0.70 charge for every extra half hour you spend on a Bicing bike. After that, it’s a €5.00 charge for every extra hour. To take your time exploring Barcelona by bike, you might want to consider a longer-term rental or buying a bike for yourself.
Alternatively, for €35 a year you can get a partial subscription, which means you just have to pay a small amount for the first half hour: €0.35 additional fees are the same otherwise.
Electric Bicing
If you wish to sit back and relax a little more as you breeze through the city, you could always take an E-bike. For just €0.35 for the first half hour rest assured you’ll be waltzing calmly into the office rather than arriving in a pool of your own sweat. The fees are €0.90 for every extra half hour you spend on an electric bike for up to two hours and then there’s a €5.00 charge for every additional hour.
- The initial subscription fee is the same.
- Electric bikes and manual Bicing bikes share the same stations.
- The E-bikes have the same body as a normal Bicing bike, so don’t be deceived. Spot the difference by checking for the electric lightning symbol on the mudguard and on the basket.
Need to Know
- The Bicing website is in Catalan and Spanish only. Why else would you need to read this article?
- Residency. As a foreigner, you need a valid NIE number to sign yourself up.
- The Bicing Map and the map in Smou will show you how many bikes are available, as well as which type of bike: manual or electric.
- Reserve a Bicing bike using the Smou app and map. Hop on a bike soon after as you only have five minutes before your reservation is canceled. You can only reserve a bike three times a day. Take care: if you don’t pick up three bike reservations in a month, you will be banned from making reservations that month.
- Sharing the card. Unsurprisingly, only the registered card holder is allowed to use the card.
- Check you have returned the bicycle correctly. Insert the card into the card reader at the station to check. If you’re using Smou, when you’ve returned the bicycle correctly the app will return the start and end details of your last journey. If not, the app will say your journey is still in progress. This means you’ll have to call the incident telephone number.
- When the bike station is full. If you want to leave a bike and the station is full, you can insert your card in the reader at the station kiosk and it will tell you which nearby stations have availability or select the option enabled in the Smou app. You will also get an additional 10 minutes free of charge to get there.
- You have to wait ten minutes between each Bicing journey. In other words, you can’t cheat the system by just getting a new bike every time your initial free half hour is about to run out.
- Bici stolen? This would be pretty impressive. If it does happen though, get yourself to a police station as soon as possible. You have two hours to report the incident. There’s a long process to follow, so you don’t leave your red ride lying around.
- Had an accident while riding a Bicing bike? If you have done some damage to your bike (or yourself!) use the web form in the contact section of the website to report the accident. Once the accident notification has been submitted, Bicing’s insurance company will be on the case.
- In need of some help? Give the Bicing service a call with this contact it’s available 24/7.
- Fancy a night-time cycle? Bicing stations are open for use all day, except from midnight to 5:00 in the morning. During these early hours you can only drop off Bicing bikes, not pick them up.
- You get discounts. All kinds of discounts and the best ones are, unsurprisingly, sports related: 50% off Sincronia Yoga for example.
- Aged 16-18? You can still use Bicing bikes, but you will need the help of a parent or legal guardian to meet the requirements.