BICING PUBLIC URBAN TRANSPORT ON TWO WHEELS
WWW.BICING.CAT
They call me number 13,135 and I travel around Barcelona. I am one of the 6000 bicycles of the city’s public rental system called “Bicing.” From what they tell us, only in Paris are there more publicly rented bicycles in circulation on a daily basis. I really love my job. I don’t produce CO2 emissions, make noise, or get into traffic jams. I just take people from place to place. On lucky days, I get to go to the beach. It’s my favorite part of Barcelona. I can spend hours locked in the Barceloneta or in the Paseo Maritimo observing people: Some people go there to exercise; others, to walk their dogs; couples come to see the sunset; and tourists party in the refreshment stands. Being at the beach makes me feel alive. On October 18, 2008, a Saturday, at 5:30 in the morning, Joan from the maintenance team leaves me in one of Bicing’s most popular stands: “Plaza Universidad.” It will be my busiest day since I joined Bicing. However, at this moment, there is no one. The city is sleeping. At 6:00, Guillermo, the waiter at the Bar Estudiantil, takes me out. He has just finished his shift and is going home. He leaves me in Plaza Espanya, where I rest for the following two hours. It’s difficult for this city to wake up early on the weekends. The sun comes out, and everything indicates that this will be a fantastic autumn day. At 8:00, Laia arrives. She works at the store in Caixa Forum at Monjuic. She takes the metro to Plaza Espanya, and from there she usually rides a bike for the last leg of her trip to work. At her work, I sit and rest for a while. Somebody take me, please! At around 10:00, Barcelona wakes up and I begin to go for kilometers; I don’t stop until 1:00 in the afternoon, when Teresa drops me off in the Rambla near the Boqueria where she does her end-of-the-week shopping. I have
105