Breisgau

The expansion of urban bicycle rental systems into the surrounding area is being implemented in various regions nationwide in the spirit of the transport transition. For a tender for the bicycle rental system planned for 2024 – with the system starting in 2026 – the Freiburg regional local transport association and the districts of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Emmendingen have approached the city of Freiburg and the VAG in order to give the district municipalities the opportunity to participate in the tender. By expanding the rental system in the two districts, an additional mobility offer could be created for the entire region in order to better connect settlement areas to the local transport network.

Jooris Preiser from Endura Kommunal presented the concept of the regional bicycle rental system Frelo with three possible locations in Herbolzheim to the local council on Thursday. Stations with a total of 15 bicycles could be created at the train station, the gatehouse and the swimming pool, six of which are Pedelecs. The city would incur around 10,000 euros in one-time investment costs per station as well as annual operating costs of 7,000 euros per station – according to Preiser, an “all-round, worry-free package” for the city. But the administration around Mayor Thomas Gedemer emphasized that they were open to the project in principle, but the general conditions with total costs of a good 130,000 euros over five years did not fit the budget situation. Even if the plan were successful, the city would not receive any share of the sales. There has so far been no demand for the Frelo system from the population; the money could be better invested in bicycle infrastructure elsewhere.

Georg Binkert (SPD) spoke out in favor of the system in principle, otherwise the mobility transition would be hindered. But he was “shocked” by the costs; the country actually should have done the job. Sebastian Berblinger (CDU) was unclear about the usage profile of the Frelo system. Martin Bergmann (FWG) also said the costs were too high. “We cannot imagine the system without the districts,” emphasized Reinhold Hämmerle (Greens). With two votes against and two abstentions, the council decided by a majority that Herbolzheim would not take part in the tender and expression of interest process.