Berlin to Cease Publicly Funded Bike Sharing System in July

Starting July, Berlin will no longer have a publicly funded bike-sharing system. The contract with the current provider, Nextbike, will expire, leading to significant changes in the availability of rental bikes throughout the city, particularly affecting outlying districts.

The Berlin Senate has decided not to support a publicly operated bike-sharing program any longer, contrary to earlier expectations. The existing contract with Nextbike, which has managed the bike-sharing service in Berlin since 2017, will end in June, and there are no plans for a new tender process as confirmed by the city's transportation administration.

Due to the current challenging budget situation, the necessary groundwork for a competitive bidding process was not established, making it impossible to proceed with the intended procedure. As a result, Berlin will soon be without a public bike-sharing system, a unique situation among major cities in Europe.

Although funding had been allocated in the budget for the operation of a public bike-sharing system, the financial administration failed to approve the allocation of these politically agreed-upon funds for 2025, according to a spokesperson for Nextbike.

Nextbike, however, plans to continue operating independently without public funding. The company has stated that it will maintain its services but will scale back its operations considerably, focusing on areas where the business model is viable. This means that the company will withdraw from many outer districts, including Steglitz, Neukölln, Tempelhof, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Pankow, and Reinickendorf. In these areas, only limited rental zones will remain, with customers unable to rent or return bikes outside these designated regions, except for specific hotspots.

Additionally, the pricing structure for rentals will change. Starting July 1, the cost for the first fifteen minutes will increase from one euro to one euro fifty cents. The charge for the second quarter-hour will rise to one euro twenty cents, while subsequent minutes will continue to cost one euro for every additional 145 minutes. However, the monthly subscription will remain at ten euros. The previously available discounts for long-term users, including a significant reduction for Berlin residents and students, will be eliminated.

As the city prepares for these changes, the impact on residents and visitors alike is expected to be substantial, particularly in districts that will lose access to bike-sharing services. The city's transportation landscape is set to undergo a significant transformation with this cessation of public bike-sharing operations.