Grenbyke

Grenbyke

A standard Grenbyke bicycle.
Overview
Owner	Dunnmaar Autonomous Republic Department of Transportation
Area served	Dunnmaar Autonomous Republic
Transit type	Bikeshare
Number of stations	702
Daily ridership	14,421
Annual ridership	approx. 5.3 million
Operation
Began operation	1998
Operator(s)	DAR Department of Transportation
Number of vehicles	2116 (all types)

Grenbyke is a state-run bicycle share program that services the Dunnmaar Autonomous Republic that began operating in 1998. One of the first major bicycle-sharing programs in the world, the service initially consisted of a relatively small number of staffed and coin-operated stations from which Dunnmaar residents could rent bicycles for a variety of intervals. In 2007 the first automated station went into use, and the increased flexibility and lower footprint of the automated stations allowed the number of stations to increase dramatically over the ensuing decade; by 2017, there were more than 650 stations, and the program surpassed the 700-station mark in 2021. At the time of opening, the system was the largest of its kind in the country by ridership and vehicles; from 2004 to 2008, it was surpassed by the CapBike system instituted in the Federal Capital District, but Grenbyke reclaimed both titles in 2016.

History

Conception

Although Dunnmaar, as the largest city in North Ottonia (and now the second-largest city on the Ottonian mainland), enjoyed (and continues to enjoy) a robust public transit system, civil servants, citizens, and urban planners alike continued to be vexed by the last-mile problem. Attempts to make parts of the city more auto-accessible in the 1980's had largely been stumped by the need to preserve the city's cultural patrimony and the existing narrow, frequently confusing streets of the old city, and in areas where those measures had been more successful (such as in Bronnswyk), air quality had degraded significantly and there had been an increase in traffic fatalities. In 1989, Director of Transportation Annette Jorgunsunn proposed a broad application of a bike share program, similar to what some neighborhoods had attempted on a local level.

Dunnmaar PubBike

The immediate result of Jorgunsunn's proposal was the predecessor of Grenbyke, the short-lived "Dunnmaar Public Bikes" program, in which approximately 400 simple bicycles, painted white and fixed with a basic cargo basket, were released for public use within the Dunnmaar metropolitan area in 1992. Although the program was generally well-liked, a lack of proper education on the handling and treatment of the bikes, a lack of control over how and when the bikes could be checked out or used, and a lack of infrastructure meant that the program was discontinued after four years due to the loss of approximately 40% of the bikes to theft, neglect, damage, or destruction. The benefits to public transportation were apparent, but it was clear that the system would need a serious overhaul.

Grenbyke

One of the major problems identified in the PubBike program was that a lack of dedicated stations had resulted in confusion about how and where to leave bikes when users were finished with them. This had resulted in many bikes either being impounded due to being left in places where they posed obstacles to foot or road traffic, tripping hazards, or where they ended up being damaged to the point of unusability. To rectify this, Grenbyke was introduced with 20 staffed, and 63 unstaffed, stations, and bikes were issued with combination locks. Rentals were done on a daily basis, with a nominal fee of ø100, payable by coin, with the issuance of a colored label that was to be affixed to the bike. The label colors changed each week, and any bike found either unlabeled or with the wrong colored label for the current week was liable to be impounded and returned to a Grenbyke station.

The mix of the locks and the stations and new checkout systems saw a significant reduction in bike-loss due to misplacement, neglect, and damage, and even helped reduce theft rates, although to some extent the last remained a noticeable, but not debilitating problem. The system proved popular enough to expand rapidly, to approximately 40 staffed stations (largely in parks or greenspaces) and with unstaffed stations breaking into the triple digits shortly after the turn of the century. Although the coin-operation system was initially protested by some, in final implementation the coin operation constituted a deposit which was refunded upon timely return of the bike.

With improvements in smart technology and automation, in the late 2000's automated stations not using coin operation were being tested, and the first permanent such station opened in 2007. In the present, this is the most common method of operation, although coin operation and staffed stations do still exist.

Operations

In the present, stations are either staffed or automated via kiosk. While coin operation is still technically available, the feature has been altered to require the input of one's given name, family name, date of birth, and address, including postal code. The simplest and most common method of access is the swiping of a Dunnmaar Transit Access Card, which all city residents are issued, and which visitors can request and receive via a visit to any staffed station or transit station or kiosk. The cards are preferred due to the ability to record check-outs and check-ins of bikes.

With the exception of coin-deposit use, all bike check-outs are free at the point of service, with the system funded by taxpayers and state industry dividends. The only exceptions to this are the (rather steep) fees for lost or stolen bikes; a stolen or bike that is not returned and not reported destroyed incurs a fine of ø125,000 for a standard bike, ø175,000 for a cargo bike, ø250,000 for an electric bike, and ø300,000 for an electric cargo bike, which is roughly the cost to replace the lost or stolen unit. If a bike is damaged during good-faith use or is lost but reported, the fine is generally waived or substantially reduced to ø12,500 or less, depending on the extent of damage or inaccessibility.

Notably, electric bicycles are available through Grenbyke but cannot be checked out via coin deposit, and require additional fees.

Most stations are powered by solar panels or small wind turbines that make use of the relatively steady breeze coming off of the Jormundsea.

Vehicles

Grenbyke offers four different models of bicycle for check-out. All models of bicycle used by Grenbyke are furnished by Svaartaron.

• Standard Bicycle - Most common throughout the DAR, and generally guaranteed to be available at any station. Free at the point of service.
• Electric Bicycle - Available at most stations, E-bike rentals generally incur a small additional fee of ø2500 per day). All electric bikes in Grenbyke service are pedal-assist only, and do not have throttles.
• Cargo Bicycle - Available at all staffed stations, occasionally available at automated stations. Free at the point of service.
• Electric Cargo Bicycle - Available only at staffed stations. Incurs an additional fee of ø5000 per day.