City bikes to be introduced in Lappeenranta in the summer

City bikes to be introduced in Lappeenranta in the summer

City bikes are to be introduced in Lappeenranta next summer with locations all around the city. This will be a bicycle rental system used with a mobile application. The city bike season runs from June to the end of October.

The aim is to promote circular economy and sustainable mobility in the city as well as to make the everyday life of the residents easier, says Climate Coordinator Petri Kero from Greenreality Services at the City of Lappeenranta.

− The bicycles are a great addition to facilitate commuting or coping with everyday surprises flexibly.

The tender process organised by the City of Lappeenranta with regard to the city bikes was won by KaaKau Oy from Kymenlaakso. Their bikes are available, for example, in Kotka and Kouvola. The city has signed a two-year contract with the company for 60 city bikes. KaaKau Service Designer Antti Lääperi is pleased about the contract.

− I am from South Karelia and it is great to have a chance to bring our city bikes to my home area. This is also our first multi-annual contract regarding a bicycle system with a city, so now we can improve our service in the long term.

Bicycles in the same rental system are available around the world at the same price

Using a city bike requires the Donkey Republic application, which is available for both Android and iOS devices. The application is used to open and lock the smart locks of the bikes. The bikes can be ridden anywhere and they can be locked anywhere. However, the start and end of the bicycle rental should take place at city bike stations. Using the application requires adding an email address and a payment card to the service.

One-time bicycle rental rates start at than less than one euro, but a bike can also be rented for several days. For those who ride a lot, for example, due to daily commuting, there is a monthly membership available for 15 euros that includes an unlimited number of rentals of less than 12 hours. In addition to KaaKau bikes, the monthly membership allows you to use all bicycles under the Donkey Republic system around the world at the same price. Those flying from Lappeenranta to Berlin or Budapest, for example, will find familiar bicycles from the destination cities.

Survey of station locations for residents

The 60 bicycles of the City of Lappeenranta will be placed at bike stations around the city, possible in up to 20 different locations. A survey regarding the station locations has been opened at https://app.maptionnaire.com/fi/6102/ . The survey is open at least until the end of April. The Lappeenranta University of Technology and Lappeenranta Region Student Housing Foundation are also, for their part, introducing the bicycle rental system, so bikes will soon be available in many places in the city.

Further details:

City of Lappeenranta

Petri Kero, Climate Coordinator, Greenreality Services
tel. +358 40 653 0508, petri.kero(at)lappeenranta.fi

KaaKau Oy

Antti Lääperi, Service Designer
tel. +358 40 5622 154, antti(at)kaakau.fi