Bicing - Financing of System

Financing of System

The system is paid for mostly by local car drivers with an effective on street parking control distributed throughout a large part of the densely populated inner-city. This money is then used to pay 2.23 million € annually to the system operator for a period of ten years. The yearly user fee is 45€ with tax included, which makes it the city's cheapest public transport service. However, the city council plans to increase the prices sharply from 2013 on (116.1 per cent), as it announced in September 2012. The unlimited use will cost 97.5 €, whereas a cheaper ticket will have a maximum of 50 journeys a year and can be topped up. Critics argue that this new limited ticket would make a journey with Bicing actually more expensive than a comparable transport with the subway. The system is also paid for a very expensive 902 number - as most users will be calling from mobiles when they need customer service, the price of ringing the 902 number can be very expensive, thus bringing in more income for Bicing.