Get off and get on: New offer at five stations

Created: 08/06/2022, 13:05

The rental bikes at Starnberg Seebahnhof: To use them, you need an app and have to scan a QR code.

Then the lock pops open.

Our colleague Mathilda Trausch tried it out.

© Dagmar Rutt

The railway has created a new offer in the district of Starnberg: day trippers can rent bikes from five railway stations to the lakes.

District – Instead of having to deal with too much traffic and looking for a parking space, a trip to the lakes in the district can also look like this: take the regional train, get on your bike at the station and cycle directly to the lake.

Many are currently planning a trip to the Five Lakes region with the 9-euro ticket.

To make mobility between train stations and travel destinations even easier, Deutsche Bahn set up 120 rental bikes at five S-Bahn stations in the district on Friday.

There are now 20 to 30 bikes each near the Herrsching, Steinebach, Hechendorf-Seefeld, Tutzing and Starnberger See stations.

The Call-a-bike summer offer runs in the Starnberg district until October 3rd.

Rental bikes are particularly attractive with a 9-euro ticket - the last bikes are parked at the station

Steffen Ludwig, DB service employee, parked the last bikes in Starnberg at the Seebahnhof yesterday.

"Thanks to the 9-euro ticket, the rental bikes are particularly attractive," he reported.

Even on Tuesday, despite the rain, some were already being used.

Nevertheless, it is primarily a weekend business, says Ludwig.

A solar panel is installed on the shelf on each wheel, which generates the energy for the GPS and the electric lock.

"When the wheels are stationary, they are in gentle mode," explains Ludwig.

A green light on the mudguard indicates if the bike is ready to ride.

A red means the battery is empty.

A flashing orange light means the bike is outside of the business area or in a no parking zone where parking is subject to additional charges.

How Call-abike works and what it costs

If you want to use the Bahn rental bikes at the five locations in the district, you need a smartphone.

The Starnberger Merkur explains how it works:

Download the Call-a-bike app and register with your email, mobile phone number and credit card.

Scan the QR code on the bike to pop the lock.

To interrupt the ride and lock the bike, press "Pause" in the app and "Continue" to unlock the lock again.

Return the bike to one of the stations.

If it is parked anywhere in the business area, a fee of one euro will be charged ("flex fee").

There are two plan options: Starter or Premium.

With the starter tariff, a bike costs 9 euros a day.

If you have the premium tariff, you pay five euros a day for two wheels, but you have to pay a basic fee of 5.60 euros per month.

From a daily rate of five euros, Bahn will credit four euros again.

This discount is currently only valid at the five pop-up stations in the Starnberg district.

All information about the offer and booking is available at www.callabike.de/sommerangebote.

The Call-a-bike stations are located directly at the most popular excursion stations not far from Ammersee, Starnberger See, Wörthsee and Pilsensee.

The stations can be found along the S 8 at the Herrsching, Seefeld-Hechendorf and Steinebach stations and along the S 6 at the Starnberg See and Tutzing stations.

Regional trains stop in Starnberg, and some long-distance trains also stop in Tutzing – and the S-Bahn anyway.

Bikes are available in marked rental zones in the immediate vicinity of the train stations

The bikes are in marked rental zones in the immediate vicinity of the train stations.

Ludwig recommends searching for the exact locations in the app.

So if you take the S-Bahn or regional train to an excursion area, you can change to a rental bike right at the station and explore the area or cycle to the next swimming area.

This is environmentally friendly and, thanks to the 9-euro ticket, particularly cheap until the end of August.

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Deutsche Bahn has been offering a rental bike service for around 20 years and is now available in 80 municipalities - as a "practical supplement to public transport and sustainable connecting mobility for travellers", according to the Bahn press release.