The Platform for European Bicycle Sharing and Systems kicked-off with a bang. Over a hundred leaders of the top global industries in the shared bicycle mobility space gathered in Arnhem to initiate PEBSS, the first and only European forum for intra-industry collaboration and talk shop for public authorities looking for guidance when planning and operating their bike share scheme.

Matthew Clark, Intelligent Mobility Specialist at the international consultancy Steer Davies Gleave, opened the conference with an inspiring speech on the future of urban mobility: connected and adaptive to data-driven real-time decisions, integrated with all other public transport options, electrified… but above all: shared. And this is where bicycles have a lot to offer, as extremely energy, space and resource-efficient solutions for first and last-mile connections.

Great speakers shared the stage, as we progressed through five panel discussions: an overview of the diversity of services in the bike share sector, presenting the different approaches of some of the most successful operators around the globe. Russell Meddin, creator of the Bike Sharing Map, steered the intriguing conversation on e-bikes in shared bicycle mobility, which explored the far-fetching opportunities of the electrification of shared schemes. Raymond Gense, managing the future technology division of PON.bike, held a lively debate on the brand new world of Mobility-as-a-Service and the great potential (and threats) it bears for shared bicycles. New ideas on dynamic pricing and sponsoring systems from all over the globe heated the conversation, and finally we went through the integration of bike share with other Smart Cities services.

Marius Macku, responsible of Public Policies for UBER in the EU, delivered a great keynote speech on the new partnerships the sharing economy allows and fosters, pushing for stronger relations between all operators of shared mobility to reduce private car use in urban spaces. All with the common aim of creating better, nicer and happier cities.

Advocacy is key

But all this needs support from the public sector. Right now, the European Commission is investing millions on shared and smart mobility projects, but few of those funding opportunities are directed towards cycling. That’s why advocacy is so important – and that’s what Bernhard Ensink, ECF Secretary General, took the microphone and during his presentation called upon the industry to act: “The car lobby is one of the most powerful, in Brussels. We need your support to build convincing cases to bring to the most relevant people within the institutions. We are asking you to compete among yourselves, but come together as an industry to help us be competitive in lobbying for better infrastructure, higher prioritization, and more resources to be allocated to shared bicycle mobility”.  

Do you share the same vision and are ready to do your share to make this happen? Contact us at pebss@ecf.com.