Bike for hire: A number of locations sprouted up in the district five years ago. (Symbolic photo) © City of Unterschleißheim
In Oberschleissheim, the municipality is cancelling two MVG rental bike locations. In addition, she hopes for innovations so that the offer is better accepted again.
Oberschleißheim – The demand for rental bikes is declining. Oberschleissheim wants to change that, so it hopes for technical innovations and until then relies on demand-stable rental bike stations on site.
Of the six rental bike stations in Oberschleißheim and the surrounding area, the municipality is sticking to four stations: The train station, Veterinärstraße, the castle and the Helmholtz Zentrum are still sufficiently well frequented. On the other hand, they want to part with the rental bike stations at the Flugwerft and in Mittenheim. Demand at these two bike rental centres has plummeted.
"Virtual Stations"
After MVG initially installed a rental bike system in the state capital, the district office for the district followed suit. In March 2018, Oberschleissheim joined the "MVG Rad" project. Five years later, the pilot, including the subsidies, will be phased out. However, the agreement reached with the district provides for a "tacit continuation of the contract" unless it is terminated within six months of the end of the year.
The municipality chose this option for the four loan stations, which are still doing well. By decision of the municipal council, Mittenheim and the Flugwerft are buried. In the opinion of the town hall, it should not have come to this. The community certainly had alternatives in mind. However, the request from Oberschleissheim to exchange the least used station in Mittenheim for a new, "virtual station" at the student dormitory at Schäferanger was rejected by both the district and the MVG. Previously, the community had been left hanging in the air for an unnecessarily long time, said town hall spokeswoman Doris Rohe in the municipal council.
"We'd rather work with rewards"
Rental bikes are in great demand nationwide. Technical innovations are almost the order of the day. Only recently, the Oberschleissheim-based Schreiner Group went public with a development in the interests of the community: Glued to the frame of a bicycle, the "RFID label" is intended to ensure identification for access control in rental stations as well as electronic billing.
Such innovations were hoped for when the municipality wanted to replace the rental stations, which are currently hardly flexible to handle, for example in Mittenheim, with a new, virtual station at Schäferanger. "People want to go home with the rental bike instead of parking it far away at a rental bike station," Rohe argued. With an app or even a development such as the "RFID label", more flexible and thus more user-friendly loans could have paved the way. Instead, the district and the MVG would have made the municipality wait half an eternity for an answer in order to iron out the proposal.
Speaking of ironing down: The penalty fee introduced in April 2022 for bikes parked away from a rental station was not conducive to acceptance. "We would rather work with rewards," said Rohe: with credits for compliant behavior, for example. The fact that the current system is outdated has probably spread to Munich in the meantime. MVG, MVV and the district are conducting research on the subject of bike sharing. In Schleißheim, they are hoping for the big hit.
More news from Oberschleissheim and the district of Munich can be found here.