TENDERING: Bids invited to deploy public bicycle system in Belgrade

The City of Belgrade’s transportation secretariat has issued an invitation to bid for a project to deploy a public bicycle system in the Serbian capital, with Belgraders likely to start using the first public bicycles in spring 2020.

Deputy Mayor Goran Vesić said earlier that Belgrade is one of the few European capitals without a public bicycle system, adding that several large companies were interested in the public-private partnership (PPP) project, but without disclosing their names.

Last week, Vesić explained that the selected partner will be allowed to hold a stake of up to 75% in Belgrade’s bike-share system, while the city will own the rest. The criterion for the selection of the top bidder will be the most economically advantageous tender.

Tender documentation is available on the web portal of the Public Procurement Office, the Public Procurement Portal of the City of Belgrade, and the web page of the Contracting Authority: www.bgsaobracaj.rs, according to the invitation to bid posted on the secretariat’s web page.

150 docks with 900 bicycles to be deployed across Belgrade

Vesić earlier said that Belgrade’s public bicycle system will have 150 docks with a total of 900 bikes. Last week, he said that a partner will be selected this fall and that it will be required to install 50 docks, with 300 bicycles, by March 2020. The partner is to deploy half of the system by July, while the entire system is to be completed by the end of 2020, according to Vesić.

Vesić also said that half of the public bicycles will be electric bikes, which are needed due to Belgrade’s hilly terrain. When it comes to cycling lanes, Belgrade currently has around 100 km, with plans to build a further 120 km over the next four years.

According to Vesić, Belgrade, just like other big cities, is faced with rapid growth in vehicle numbers, which creates traffic bottlenecks and adversely affects the air quality. He recalled that Belgrade’s public parking space operator, JKP Parking Servis, has 600 bicycles available for free to drivers who park their cars at selected parking lots and decide to continue their journey by bike, adding that these bicycles will continue to be available to drivers.