Sevici
Encyclopedia
Sevici is a community bicycle program
Community bicycle program
A bicycle sharing system is a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals who do not own them. Bicycle sharing systems can be divided into two general categories: "Community Bike programs" organized mostly by local community groups or non-profit organizations; and...

 in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

 inaugurated in April 2007, modeled after the Vélo'v
Vélo'v
Vélo'v is a bicycle rental service run by the city of Lyon, France, in conjunction with the advertising company JCDecaux. The relationship with JCDecaux allows the city to provide the service on a cost neutral basis for the city, and at very low cost to users, in return for providing exclusive...

 service in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

 and Vélib'
Vélib'
' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. Launched on 15 July 2007, the system has expanded to encompass over 20,000 bicycles and 1,202 bicycle stations, located across Paris and in some surrounding municipalities...

 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Its purpose is to cover the small and medium daily routes within the city in a climate friendly
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, CarSharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy...

 way, almost without pollution (specially the emission of finest particulate matter), roadway noise
Roadway noise
Roadway noise is the collective sound energy emanating from motor vehicles. In the USA it contributes more to environmental noise exposure than any other noise source, and is constituted chiefly of engine, tire, aerodynamic and braking elements...

, traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...

 and to reclaim the urban streets with non-polluting vehicles
Human-powered transport
Human-powered transport is the transport of person and/or goods using human muscle power. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming...

.

Operation

The Ayuntamiento de Sevilla (Municipal Government) and JCDecaux
JCDecaux
JCDecaux Group is a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, that is active primarily in advertising....

 manage and maintain the system. Two membership options are available; a weekly pass, purchasable at each of the station kiosks by credit card at a cost of 5 euros, and a yearly pass, requiring an application to be sent to the municipal government at a cost of 10 euros . Before the end of 2008 more than 250 stations and 2500 bikes will be available. The stations are situated throughout the inner-city with a distance of around 200 metres between each one, with many situated next to public transport stops to allow for intermodal use
Intermodal passenger transport
Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...

. The bikes can be borrowed from, and returned to, any station in the system, making it suitable for one way travel. Each station has between 10 and 40 parking slots to fix and lock the bicycle.

To borrow a bike with a yearly pass, one simply swipes the contactless RFID-card at a station kiosk to be personally identified by the system, which then unlocks a bike from the support frame. With a weekly pass, a ticket is printed with an ID number that can be punched in at the station kiosks to identify the user account. Bicycles can be used for the first 30 minutes at no extra cost. The next hour costing 0.50 Euros and all subsequent use costing 1 euro per hour for the yearly pass, double the cost for the weekly pass. To return a bicycle one simply places the bike in a spare slot at a station, the bike is recognized automatically and is locked into place.

Subscription

The yearly subscription costing 25 euros requires an address where the pass is sent, whereas the weekly alternative (10 euros) can be obtained directly at any station by presenting a credit card. In both cases a 150 euro deposit is authorised in order to deter theft. (If a debit card is used, the 150 euros will be taken immediately and returned at the end of the hire period.)

When a weekly membership is purchased the user is provided with a member code ticket to be used at the stations rather than an RFID card, making the service immediately available to tourists.

External links

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