Milan is one of several European cities that have recently instituted a bike sharing program. One first "joins" at a rate of 2.5 euros a day, 6 euros a week, or 36 euros for a year. (A euro is approximately $1.30.) One then has a name and PIN to punch into a machine at any of 100 bike stations, mostly around the center of the city.
You can take a bike at no further charge as long as you return it to one of the stations within 30 minutes. These stations are automated with a computerized docking system. You punch in a code and it assigns you a bike and gives you a few moments to remove it from the dock. When you return a bike, it registers that you've turned it in. a After another 10 minutes you are then able to take out another bike. If you don't get to a station within the allotted 30 minutes, then your credit card gets a small charge, which quickly escalates. After several hours it becomes 150 euro fine, and if this happens more than once you can be dropped from the system.
Ordinarily if there are no vacant locking docks available you get directed to the nearest station with open slots and are allotted an extra 15 minutes.
The photo shows the bike stand at the Cardano Metro Station at evening rush hour. As one can see there, the rule about having to dock your bike is honored in the breach at peak times. (Typical Italian, I suppose. It's hard to imagine this scene in Germany.) Indeed the van in the background is pulling a trailer to be loaded with the excess bikes to be distributed elsewhere. When I was there early the next morning all the randomly parked bikes were gone and only the nice neat row of docked bikes, plus 3 or 4 empty slots, was in evidence.
As you can also see from the picture, these are heavy duty bikes with little baskets, adjustable seats, and front and rear lights. They are clearly identifiable on the streets.
On my recent trip to Milan I had every intention of purchasing a one-week pass. In the end I bailed, however. First of all one needed a texting cell phone to receive the log-in name when signing up online. But I wasn't using a cell phone in Italy. Perhaps I could have gotten around this if I had found a place to register in person. But having a smart phone is somewhat important as it can show you the nearest stations and where bikes are available and where parking slots are available. Also, although I was staying at a hotel in the city center, the conference I was attending was taking place 9 km, about a 45 minute metro/tram commute, into the "suburbs", well beyond the locations of the bike stations. And with all the commuting, etc., we didn't really have much free time.
Despite all of this I was still aiming to give it a try. But then I got a first hand look at traffric in Milan and gave up the idea. Cars, mostly small ones, everywhere. Small trucks. Many motorcycles. Lots of bikes. All performing a complicated "dance", weaving in and out, squeezing through tight spaces, parking on the sidewalk. It all seemed to work. But I just wasn't up for it. As expected, also, I saw very few (but did see some) helmets.
Ah well. It was fun to consider even if I was too chicken to give it a try.
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