▪ Fourteen key players in the shared bike sector sign a joint manifesto for the first time, calling for shared bicycles to be included in the plan Spain will present to the European Commission.

▪ The Social Climate Fund presents a historic opportunity to ensure fair access to affordable transport options — including shared bicycles.

▪ Spain has three times fewer shared bicycles per 10,000 inhabitants than the Netherlands or Denmark, and half as many as France.

▪ The manifesto reflects the sector’s unity in recognising shared bicycles as a key pillar of more sustainable and accessible mobility.

Coinciding with the final stages of drafting the National Plan that Spain must submit to Brussels, fourteen key entities from the shared bicycle sector – representing practically 100% of the sector – have joined forces to create the ‘Manifesto of the Actors of Shared Bicycles in Spain for the Social Climate Fund’, calling on the Government to integrate this mode of transport into the Social Climate Fund. The initiative follows months of dialogue and technical meetings with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), during which the entities have expressed their willingness to contribute to more equitable and sustainable mobility.

The signatories are calling for concrete measures to ensure equitable access to mobility and to avoid missing a historic opportunity for European investment. The Manifesto emphasises that the challenge lies not only in expanding infrastructure, but also in democratising mobility options across all contexts, especially in medium-sized municipalities, peripheral areas, and regions at risk of exclusion.

Currently, Spain has three times fewer shared bicycles per 10,000 inhabitants than countries such as the Netherlands or Denmark, and half as many as France, according to data from the mobility-specialised website fluctuo.com. This clearly highlights an opportunity to promote this transport model. This need becomes even more evident considering that more than 20% of the Spanish population lives without adequate access to public transport.

Shared bicycles: fair and sustainable mobility

Shared bicycles are a key solution to address Spain’s mobility challenges, as they guarantee equitable, sustainable and efficient access to urban transport. Based on the principle that mobility should be understood as a right and not a privilege, bicycles, along with public bike systems, offer an affordable alternative, reduce dependency on private vehicles, help to decongest cities, and reduce polluting emissions. They also promote healthier lifestyle habits and address the needs of vulnerable groups, especially in densely populated urban areas with unequal access to transport.

If included in the Social Climate Fund, shared bicycles could become one of the driving forces behind the transformation of urban mobility in Spain, ensuring fairer and more sustainable access to transport. According to projections included in the Manifesto, this push would allow the number of shared bicycles to increase to 100,000 by 2030, reduce CO₂ emissions by 200,000 tonnes per year, and decrease private vehicle use in urban areas by at least 10%. It would also improve transport access in municipalities and neighbourhoods with lower connectivity, with affordable rates for vulnerable groups, and would generate over 5,000 jobs in the sustainable mobility sector, contributing to a more inclusive and equitable economy.

The Manifesto also insists on the need to incorporate criteria such as accessibility, travel times, and mobility costs in the planning of new public policies. It also calls for the design of effective measures, such as the creation of incentives and specific subsidies to implement shared bicycle systems in municipalities with limited connectivity. This line of action reflects the recommendations of the European POLIS network (the European alliance of cities and regions committed to sustainable urban mobility) to structurally tackle transport poverty.

As Jesús Freire, Secretary General of the Spanish Association of Bicycle Brands (AMBE) and spokesperson for the Manifesto, warns: “Shared bicycles are not anecdotal: they are a key component of the present and future of urban mobility and the fulfilment of climate goals. For that reason, Spain cannot afford to leave shared bicycles out of the Social Climate Plan – a mode of transport that reduces emissions, creates local jobs, and ensures fairer access to sustainable mobility. As a clear example: in 2024, BiciMAD exceeded 9.8 million trips, 30% more than the previous year, with 7,735 bicycles and 630 active stations.”

The Social Climate Fund (SCF), endowed with over €87 billion for the 2026–2032 period, aims to help European citizens face the costs of the green transition, including access to clean and affordable mobility. Spain is expected to receive around 10.5% of the total fund (more than €9.2 billion). The plan must be approved by the European Commission by the end of 2025, so that aid can begin to be distributed from 2026.

Proposed measures for the Social Climate Fund:

1. Promotion of intermodality in transport, including shared bicycles
▪ Integration of shared bicycles as one more mode in modal distribution.
▪ Development of infrastructure that facilitates intermodality with other modes of transport, such as train stations, metro and intercity buses.
▪ Creation of incentives for shared mobility operators that integrate their services with public transport networks and with metropolitan or consortium-based fare systems.
▪ Subsidies for shared bicycle stations located at key transport hubs.
▪ Use of the Social Climate Fund to cover the costs of technological and operational integration with other modes of transport, ensuring long-term viability.

2. Optimisation and expansion of existing shared bicycle systems
▪ Funding for the expansion of shared bicycle station networks and cycling infrastructure, ensuring efficient and equitable coverage.
▪ Support for the electrification of fleets to encourage the use of electric bicycles and enable longer and more accessible journeys for a range of users.
▪ Investment in charging infrastructure for electric bicycles, ensuring deployment at stations and strategic city locations.
▪ Financing exclusively through the Social Climate Fund, supplemented by national sustainable mobility programmes.

3. Social transport voucher applicable to shared bicycles and social fares
▪ Creation of a mobility social voucher that can be used on shared bicycle services, as well as on other modes of public transport.
▪ Implementation of a social fare in shared bicycle services, allowing for discounts or free access for low-income users, students, and the unemployed.
▪ Priority access for users in economic vulnerability, in areas with lower public transport connectivity, and in urban centres with low-emission zones.
▪ Financing through the Social Climate Fund, ensuring that this subsidy is sustainable and scalable over time, as suggested by guidelines from the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) in their implementation guide for the Social Climate Fund.

4. Expansion of shared bicycles to medium and small municipalities
▪ Implementation of pilot shared bicycle projects in smaller municipalities, connecting them with larger cities.
▪ Design of specific grant schemes for shared mobility in these areas.
▪ Exclusive financing through the Social Climate Fund, with the possibility of being supplemented by other European regional cohesion funds.
▪ Application of mixed public-private funding models to guarantee service sustainability, in line with sector recommendations.

5. Creation of a micro-grants programme for specific needs of shared bicycle services
▪ Promote the expansion of shared bicycle systems in low-demand or dispersed-density areas, ensuring mobility for all population groups, especially in hard-to-reach or more vulnerable zones.
▪ Incentivise projects that integrate electric charging technologies and innovative mobility solutions, promoting low-emission fleets and reducing the carbon footprint of urban transport.
▪ Provide direct financial support through the Social Climate Fund, ensuring the sustainability and long-term viability of the proposed services.
▪ Establish a framework enabling operators to access subsidies based on efficiency, accessibility and sustainability criteria, in line with the recommendations of the POLIS network. This framework will ensure that supported projects meet quality and environmental commitment standards.

KEY DATA ON MOBILITY AND SHARED BICYCLES IN SPAIN

• Over 20% of Spain’s population lacks adequate access to public transport, especially in rural and peri-urban areas.

• Spain has three times fewer shared bicycles per 10,000 inhabitants than the Netherlands or Denmark, and twice fewer than France.

• Currently, around 35,000 shared bicycles operate in Spain, of which approximately 89% belong to municipal public systems.

• In rural areas, families spend 14.1% of their annual budget on transport, compared to 10.6% in urban areas, due to the limited public transport offering in rural zones.

• Over one million Spaniards cannot afford transport or have no alternatives to private cars, a situation especially affecting low-income households in rural areas.

(*) Sources: World Bike Share Map, Spanish Transport and Logistics Observatory, Fluctuo.