I Ride My Bycycle
Sunday, 14 June 2009 -- 10:00 pm
Today was the first day I used my Oslo Bysykkel card! The Bysykkel (literally “city cycle”) program is a collection of cycle stands scattered around the city. Although much of the year isn’t particularly cycle friendly, this is a fantastic deal even just for the few months of “summer”! For 80 kroner, you get a season pass that allows you to use they cycles whenever you want. In the land of outrageous prices, that’s ridiculously cheap! It’s the same price as just 4 trips on the public transit system.
Once you’ve registered, you simply swipe your card at one of the stands, pick up the bike, and then drop it off at a stand near your destination. Although the stand I started at didn’t have any available cycles, the display shows realtime data about availability at the stands close by. How convenient!
So after strolling around town with friends today, we were in a neighborhood with no easy transit routes back home. Instead of walking back to the subway, we opted to just cycle home. I just think the system is great, especially since there are so many bike routes. And there are cycle stands all over the city, including one right across the street from our apartment!
This is definitely one of those times when I’m asking, “Why didn’t we sign up for this sooner?!”





