In 24 German cities they are now an integral part of the streetscape: the bicycles with the blue front tire. Repairs, spare parts, breakdown service – everything is covered by Swapfiets for a monthly fee. Manager André Illmer is brimming with confidence: “I don’t see any limits to our business.”
In many German cities they are now an integral part of the street scene: the bicycles with the blue front tire, which are lent out by Swapfiets. The company, which comes from the Netherlands, is based on a membership model in which customers pay a monthly fee for their bike and then don’t have to worry about anything else: repairs, spare parts, breakdown service – everything is covered by the provider. Swapfiets has already gained 300,000 customers in its countries of operation, in Germany alone there are 75,000 in 24 cities. “I see no limit for our business,” says Germany boss André Illmer in the podcast “The hour zero”. “Germany is becoming a real cycling country.”
However, the company, which was taken over by the Dutch bicycle group Pon, has not yet made a profit – also because new locations are still being tried out. In doing so, the Swapfiets managers found that experiences can only be transferred from one city to another with difficulty: While many customers were found in the bicycle city of Münster, Freiburg, which was similarly positioned, had to be given up as a location due to a lack of interest.
Illmer advocates reorganizing city traffic in Germany and orienting it towards examples such as Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Bicycles will be given significantly more space there. “We have to rethink the cities – and ask ourselves what the fair distribution of space should look like,” he says. “Of course, cars have their place. But the question is whether it makes sense to fill the streets with unused objects – that is, with parked cars.”
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