Bike Tel Aviv from maozisrael on Vimeo.
The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality announced a tender for the establishment and operation of a bike rental setup in Tel Aviv. FSM Ground Services Ltd. was the company chosen by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality to establish and operate the bike rental setup in the area under its jurisdiction. Tel-O-Fun bicycle share has now been in operation for about a year and provides bicycles to the city 24 hours a day, all year round.
Tel-O-Fun bikes are new and safe one-size models with 3 gears, suitable for both men and women. The bikes have an adjustable seat, and are equipped with a headlight, backlight, mud‑flaps, and a carrier at the back for small items.
How:
- Walk up to any one of the Tel-O-Fun rental stations around town, choose a daily or weekly subscription on the service terminal, rent a bike and off you go (for an annual subscription, see item 4 below).
- When you are done riding, return the bicycle to any Tel-O-Fun rental station so that it can be used by the next customer.
- Daily or weekly subscriptions can be purchased with a valid credit card at any of the Tel-O-Fun rental stations around town. Following payment, a card with a barcode is automatically dispensed with which you then use to release the bicycle from its docking pole.
- Annual subscriptions can be purchased here on the Tel-O-Fun website, or at our Customer Service center in the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality building. Upon payment, you will receive a “chip” (the Tel-O-Fun key), which will enable you to use the service any time you want to ride a bike. Tel Aviv-Yafo residents with a valid resident card or Maximum Tel Aviv card are entitled to a discount when purchasing an annual subscription.
- The Tel-O-Fun service includes the subscription fee and a usage fee if you keep a bicycle for more than half an hour at a time. For all users, the first half hour is free. Fees for continuous rental beyond the first half hour are presented here. Note, if you return a bike within half an hour (to any rental station), and wait at least ten minutes, you can take another bike for another half hour and you won’t be charged any usage fees.
Why:
- Reducing the number of vehicles traveling in Tel Aviv
- Increasing the use of public transport by those commuting to the city, and thereby:
- Decreasing the number of private vehicle users within the city
- Decreasing air pollution
A survey has indicated that the amount of travel by private vehicle in the city has decreased by 5% in the past year.
Status:
- 170 bike docking stations (enabled several languages: Hebrew, English, Arabic, French and Russian)
- 2,200 bikes
- About 20,000 annual subscriptions
- More than 1.5 million casual subscribers (about 20% of them tourists (about 20% are tourists)
- About 250,000 rides per month
- At weekends, the main riding activity is due to random subscribers visiting the city’s shoreline
- Rental duration time averages at 17 minutes (in common with similar systems in Europe)
Photos by Vuyisa Qabaka
Sources: https://www.tel-o-fun.co.il/en/ ; http://telofun.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/tel-o-fun-project-highlights/vie