Building a shared mobility culture and shared mobility campaign

The first dockless e-bike sharing system in Greece was launched in Rethymno; a minimum of 300 e-bikes are available in the wider area of the Municipality for locals and visitors, which is helping to promote a modal shift towards sustainable modes of transport.

Implementing sustainable mobility

The existing public bike sharing system is being replaced by an innovative dockless e-bike sharing system. This was made possible through efficient cooperation between the public and private sector. Rethymno is also promoting a shared mobility culture through behavioural change tools based on research-defined clusters and mobile apps.

The main objectives of the measure are to:

optimise the bike sharing system and related infrastructure;
increase cycling levels by increasing the amount of bikes available for sharing;
increase the amount of people using sustainable mobility modes;
challenge the introduction of car/taxi sharing use;
reduce the amount of journeys made by single occupancy vehicles.

The main planned actions are:

Study on mobility sharing best practices, recommendations on bike, taxi and car sharing scheme designs adapted to the local situation/culture.
Improvement and expansion of the bike sharing system, including e-bikes.
Study for the launch and operation of a web-based sharing mobility platform.
Promotional campaign to enable behavioral change towards a shared mobility culture and the sharing platform use.
Sharing miles competition among hotel employees.
Collaboration with taxi drivers to assess a potential shared service framework.
User satisfaction survey to improve/evaluate the sharing vehicle services.

How did the measure progress?

The activities implemented so far are:

Study on potential improvements to the existing bike sharing system and alternative solutions for expansion; workshops with key stakeholders and interested private operators.
Establishing cooperation with private operators to launch, operate and maintain a dockless system within the municipality.
A location study for bike sharing based on the existing land use, key attraction points and the connection of the city centre with neighbourhoods and suburban areas.
Testing the operation of a large–scale dockless e-bike sharing system with 300 e-bikes in the wider area of Rethymno.
New payment methods available through a mobile app and cards available for tourists in main hotels.
Communication activities through events and press, as well as media activities to promote the new bike sharing system.
Public consultation workshop to raise awareness and engage residents and tourists in sharing mobility and participatory events for the design of suitable services.
Research on existing car-sharing platforms that were then adapted to the local context.
Determining the specifications/customisation of the web platform.

What were the outcomes of the measure?

The expected outcomes of the measure are:

Upgraded bike sharing system with upgraded payment methods.
300 e-bikes available in the wider area and one e-bike for people with disabilities.
Large-scale campaign (including social media) to promote sharing m.obility modes.
One web-based bike sharing mobile phone application demonstrated.
Study for the pilot operation of a web-based car/taxi sharing platform.