Tel Aviv expanding bike rental service to outlying neighborhoods

The number of people using Tel Aviv's bicycle rental service is greater than anticipated and the rate of vandalism is much lower than expected, said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai at a press conference on Tuesday, where he pronounced the program, inaugurated seven months ago, a success. Some 13,000 people have purchased an annual subscription to the service, which costs NIS 240 for city residents and NIS 280 for non-residents. Every day, about 5,500 bikes are rented at the city's 141 rental stations, about half of which are in the city center. The city announced on Tuesday that it was going to offer daily and weekly subscriptions, which would serve mainly tourists, at a cost of NIS 16 and NIS 60 respectively. Various municipalities such as Ramat Gan and Herzliya are to expand the project to those cities. The municipality of Givatayim is moving ahead on a separate project to rent electric bikes.