Albania’s capital Tirana, in partnership with Mobike, the world’s first smart bikeshare company, has become the first city in the Balkans to introduce a bikesharing scheme which does not require docking station infrastructure. The initiative is part of Tirana’s effort to grow the number of bikes and reduce the use of cars in the city.
“Tirana has become a city of innovation,” said Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj. “This is our chance to transform the city with a cell phone and a bike.”
The first fleet of 1000 bikes went into service on June 8. Riders simply need to download and register on the Mobike app and pay a one-time deposit of 39 leks for 20 minutes, or 990 leks (around 7.90 euros) for a monthly pass.
Mobike was founded in Beijing in January 2015, and officially launched its first service – in Shanghai – in April 2016. Mobike is now active in over 200 cities across the world, and offering a total of nine million smartbikes.