Ready to go: bikes and e-scooters from various providers at the Taunusanlage in Frankfurt
Image: Ilkay Karakurt
From the Estonian provider Bolt, Frankfurters will not only be able to rent an e-scooter or a car, but also e-bikes for short distances. They are even cheaper than the controversial e-scooters.
Dhe e-scooter rental company Bolt is now also distributing electric bicycles for short-term rentals in Frankfurt. The company said the e-bikes could be rented for 15 cents a minute without an unlocking fee. They are therefore slightly cheaper than e-scooters. The Estonian provider did not say how many e-bikes will be distributed. The bikes last five years and their batteries can be replaced. After Berlin, Frankfurt is the second city in Germany where Bolt offers electric bicycles, alongside e-scooters and a ride-hailing agency. The other e-scooter rental companies Bird, Lime, Tier and Voi do not yet have any e-bikes on offer in Frankfurt.
Conventional bicycles for short distances are already offered by the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Call-a-Bike and Nextbike in Frankfurt, which usually cost one euro per quarter of an hour. They are about half as expensive as Bolt e-bikes, but also without the support of the electric motor.
In 2017, several private providers had already distributed rental bikes in large numbers in German cities. The high number triggered a debate about parking bans, littering and tougher rules for providers. Since then, these rental bike providers have either given up again or switched to the much more lucrative e-scooters.
