User:KrzysztofPoplawski/Sosnowiecki Rower Miejski

Sosnowiecki Rower Miejski (Sosnowiec City Bike) - public bike rental system in Sosnowiec, which was established as the first in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie and, according to media information ( Onet , Dziennik Zachodni , TVS , city portal and ESKA , the third investment of this type in the Silesian Voivodeship. It was launched on June 1, 2018, which in fact makes it the eighth largest launch in the voivodeship (apart from Katowice and Gliwice mentioned by the media, Pszczyna (from 2017) and Bielsko-Biała (from 2014) had a public bike system, and earlier in the same year, it was launched in Tychy, Częstochowa and Zabrze ).

As one of the few systems, it has roofed stations. Initially, the offer was also supposed to include cargo bikes enabling the transport of luggage up to 100 kg or four children, but the first bikes of this types were introduced in 2020.

The city bike system is compatible with the other systems used in Silesian Metropolis: Katowice, Tychy, Chorzów, Siemianowice Śląskie, and after the talks, the systems from metropolitan cities were synchronized.

History
In 2016, the City Hall announced a PLN 1.7 million tender for the construction and equipment of a roofed city bike station. A separate tender has been announced for the management and operation of the city bike rental system. The contract was signed on February 16, 2017 after second tender. Originally, the system was to be launched in March 2018, then April 2018. Finally, the system was launched on June 1. Even before the station was launched, 1,846 inhabitants of the city were registered in the system.

At the time of launch, the system consisted of 9 maintenance-free roofed docking stations: and 130 bicycles, including tandems and tricycles.

There were plans to expand with another 11 stations and 110 bicycles.

On April 5, 2019, the system was integrated with other systems in the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis. Bicycles from 5 cities: Katowice, Tychy, Chorzów, Siemianowice Śląskie and Sosnowiec can be left at any city bike station in the area of the above-mentioned cities.

In July 2019, the tenth station was launched - a station near the Stawiki recreation complex. In 2020, 12 more stations were launched in the system with total ammount of 270. There are also bicycles equipped with child seats, cargo bicycles and children's bicycles. The system was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic threat, the system has been equipped with dispensers for hand disinfectant. In the same year, the system was included in the MulltiSport Bike program, thanks to which users of Multisport cards can get rides under the subscription.

Bicycles
The system consists of 270 bicycles and 22 covered, maintenance-free docking stations.

As part of the system, apart from traditional city bikes, the following are available :


 * tandem bicycles – 16 pieces,
 * tricycles for people with disabilities and balance problems - 4, bicycles equipped with child seats - 10 pieces, cargo bikes - 10 pieces,  children's bicycles - 10 pieces.

System operation
The system is in operation from the beginning of April to the end of November. The exception is 2020, where due to the pandemic, the system was launched on May 11. The stations are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hire
In order to make a rental, you must be a registered user of any Sosnowiecki Rower Miejski system or any one supported by NextBike in Poland and have an Android or IOS application downloaded from Google Play or AppStore on your mobile device. You can register via the system's website and pay the activation fee of PLN 10. Bikes can be rented via the terminal (entering the telephone number, pin code and bike code) or via a dedicated mobile application (entering the bike code or scanning the QR code).

From 2019, bicycles of the Sosnowiec system can be left at city bike stations in Katowice, Tychy, Chorzów and Siemianowice Śląskie as well as in Zabrze and Gliwice.

Fees and Payment
The first 30 minutes of renting a bike are free, then the fees increase gradually. From the 31st to the 60th minute the fee is PLN 1. The next commenced hour is PLN 2, the third hour - PLN 3, and each next hour over 3 hours - PLN 4.

It was planned that payments could be made using the SMS service, fast transfer and ŚKUP card. Until 2020, only the payment methods are prepaid, where, after logging in to the website, the account is topped up using an online transfer or online card payment. From April 1, 2020, you can also pay for bike rental with the Multisport card. The subscription includes one hour of rental per day.