Nextbike has opened the largest urban bicycle rental system in Poland and the third in Europe, Metrorower, in the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolitan Area (GZM). 1,860 bikes and 267 stations appeared on the streets, which is more than originally planned.

Originally, 1,260 bikes were to be available in seven cities in the first phase, but some of the implementation work has been accelerated. The new system is now available to the inhabitants of eight cities: Katowice, Sosnowiec, Tychy, Gliwice, Zabrze, Chorzów, Siemianowice Śląskie and Czeladź. Ultimately, the system will cover 7,000 unicycles and 924 stations in 31 municipalities.

According to the original plans, the number of bikes was to increase to almost 4,800 in phase II and to a target of 7,000 in phase III. Although the plans assumed a longer waiting time for the next phases, everything will happen faster than planned. On 23 February the Assembly of the GZM adopted a resolution, which will enable the acceleration of the realisation of Phases II and III of the Metrorail to the turn of July and August this year.

“The Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolitan Area is the largest metropolis in this part of Europe. We are a kind of city of cities, which, on the one hand, allows cities and municipalities to preserve their identity and, on the other, to build synergies where borders seem unnecessary. These assumptions are ideally realised by Metrorower. The launch of Poland’s largest urban bicycle system is a milestone for us”, says Kazimierz Karolczak, chairman of the management board of GZM.

According to Karolczak, Metrorower complements the existing GZM transport system by realising, among other things, the idea of the ‘last mile’, and the investment will enable residents to move around the city more comfortably and will have a positive impact on the development of the local economy and tourism. 

Nextbike Poland is restructuring to provide and operate self-service urban bicycle rentals. It has been operating in Poland since 2011. It has been listed on the NewConnect market since 2017.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński