A first of its kind study by Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) ranks bike sharing services in 148 European cities and reveals major gaps in performance between front-runners and late-adopters. 250 000 tons of CO2 could be saved every year in Europe if cities followed the example set by Paris and other leading European cities.

CIE’s “Shared Ambition” study gives cities key insights into how to improve their bike sharing offer, generate more trips and make cities greener and more liveable. The study reveals that future 2024 Olympic Games host Paris, followed by Bordeaux, Antwerp, Toulouse, and Lyon, leads the way when it comes to daily trips per inhabitant.

If all the cities covered in the study were to reach the benchmark of at least 19 trips per 1000 inhabitants per day set by front-runners, bike sharing would help save 250,000 tons of CO2 every year in Europe. An estimated €240 million investment to add 200,000 shared bikes in European cities would be necessary to achieve this.

Additional key indicators emerge from the comparisons made in the study, such as the minimum number of trips per day per bike required to make a bike sharing scheme viable, and the minimum number of bikes per inhabitant required to ensure sufficient coverage and relevance.

Read more about this study here.