The municipal and region-wide bicycle and pedelec rental system RegioRadStuttgart is growing and is now represented with rental stations in 42 towns and municipalities in the region beyond the state capital of Stuttgart. The first of two stations in the Ludwigsburg district was inaugurated on Wednesday (July 14). "In order for rental bikes to become a convenient and therefore popular mobility alternative, it is essential that stations are distributed throughout the region. We are therefore very pleased that the district can now contribute to the further densification of the system with two new stations," says Dietmar Allgaier, explaining the motivation of the district administration to participate in the "Two for One" funding program of the Verband Region Stuttgart. The association co-finances a maximum of two stations with up to 50,000 euros. The development costs for the stations are borne entirely by the district, while the costs for the provision and operation of the facilities are shared between the association and the district.
"The denser the network of stations, the more flexible and attractive the entire system becomes," said Dr. Nicola Schelling, Regional Director of the Verband Region Stuttgart, at the opening ceremony. Since the start of the funding program in June 2020, the program has agreed to co-finance a total of 42 stations with a total budget of around one million euros. "We also want to launch another round of funding in 2022," says Dr. Schelling. Another major advantage: "For PolygoCard users, the 30 free minutes for bicycles and 15 free minutes for pedelecs mean that short journeys are free of charge," added Dr. Schelling. An advantage that is becoming increasingly important with a growing number of stations.
Both new stations are located in Ludwigsburg, the first at the district office building in Hindenburgstraße, the second at the vocational school center on Römerhügelweg near the bus stop. The first is ready for use immediately, the second will be activated in the next few days. "As a district, we have much less space than cities and municipalities, which limits the choice of location somewhat," explains Madeleine Janker, the district's cycling officer, "but I am sure that we have found two busy and therefore promising locations with the two chosen sites at the district hall and the school center. We hope that the citizens will take up the new offer well."
Two bicycles and three pedelecs can be rented at each of the two new stations. In total, the rental bikes and pedelecs are now available for hire at nine stations in Ludwigsburg. There are already RegioRadStuttgart stations in 11 towns and municipalities throughout the district: In addition to Ludwigsburg, these include Bietigheim-Bissingen, Ditzingen, Freiberg am Neckar, Gerlingen, Kirchheim am Neckar, Kornwestheim, Remseck am Neckar, Sachsenheim, Schwieberdingen and Vaihingen an der Enz. Further stations will be added in Steinheim an der Murr, Korntal-Münchingen and Marbach am Neckar.
Background
Using RegioRadStuttgart is simple: all you need to do is register at www.regioradstuttgart.de, the RegioRadStuttgart app or by telephone. The RegioRad bikes and RegioPedelecs can then be rented at any station via polygoCard, app or telephone and returned at any station. With a polygoCard, you get 30 free minutes for bikes and 15 free minutes for pedelecs with every ride. The polygoCard can be ordered free of charge at www.mypolygo.de. Further information about RegioRadStuttgart can be found at www.regioradstuttgart.de. Anyone looking for inspiration for RegioRadStuttgart tours through the region can also find this at www.stuttgart-tourist.de/radfahren-wandern-stuttgart-region/regiorad-stuttgart and www.zugportal.de/sbahnstuttgart.
Deutsche Bahn Connect GmbH operates RegioRadStuttgart on behalf of the state capital Stuttgart and the municipalities in the region. The bike sharing system is part of the "Call a Bike" family. This means that more than 16,000 bikes are available to customers in over 80 cities across Germany.
