Dear cycling enthusiasts,

Žilina bikesharing enters its fifth season from 27 March. This year it will remain free of charge thanks to the Kia Slovakia Foundation, provided that the current rules are respected, namely the 30-minute rental interval and the place of return of the bicycle. In addition to the 21 fixed docking stations, you will also be able to use the nine virtual stations that were added to the system during the last season. According to Žilina’s mayor Petr Fiabáne, bikesharing is also very popular in the city, as evidenced by the numbers of rentals from the past years. “The bike-sharing system has become an everyday part of the life of our residents in the last period and is fully used. Every year we are seeing an increase in the number of users who prefer a more comfortable and healthier mode of transport,” said Mr Fiabáne. Last year, the BikeKIA project recorded 198 774 bike rentals with an average rental time of 13 minutes. According to the statistics, most of the rentals took place, by default, during the summer months. The highest number of rentals was in June, when we recorded up to 30,290 rentals, followed by 28,946 in August and 25,174 in May. The busiest stations in the long term are Námestie Andreja Hlinku, COOP Polomská in the Vlčince housing estate, Aupark or Štefánikovo námestie. The most active user rented a bicycle 539 times last year, the second 458 times and the third in the order 409 times. The total number of registered BikeKIA users reached 40,106 by the end of the season in December 2022.

All bikes underwent a complete winter maintenance, which consisted of replacing damaged or worn parts, adjusting and cleaning the bikes so that they would be ready for users from the first day of the season. Those interested in the service can still sign up for free via the website www.bikekia.sk or the BikeKIA app, available for free on Android and iOS. It is then possible to rent a bike for 30 minutes free of charge via smartphone. The fee for exceeding the set 30-minute free rate remains unchanged for the current season. It remains at €20, with the same €20 fee for each additional one hour, but with a maximum daily charge of €100. Each station includes an information panel with a description of the system – instructions on how to rent and return a bicycle. Each bicycle has a built-in GPS locator.

The main partner of the project is the Kia Slovakia Foundation and the operator is the city of Žilina, for which the company ARRIVA Slovakia a.s. delivered a fully functional system and ensures its smooth operation on a daily basis.

We are looking forward to seeing you in the new season – starting soon 🙂

BikeKIA team