Spittal an der Drau is home to the FamilienFlitzer, Austria’s first transport bike sharing project with a focus on tourism. Thanks to the innovative bike garages with a smart locking system, developed by Radkompetenz member radverteiler, the transport bikes can be parked securely and rented around the clock. The bike garages are a further development of the smart rental boxes and can be opened via smartphone.

Smart bike garages and flexible rental

The specially designed bike garages are made by the company Buttazoni from Himmelberg in Carinthia, which specializes in high-quality bike shelters. Equipped with the intelligent locking system from Radverteiler, they enable secure and uncomplicated rental. Users can open the garages at any time after reserving a bike via the rental platform radverteiler.at and use the bikes. The calendar on the FamilienFlitzer website shows the availability of the bikes, and they can be booked after a one-off registration and entering the payment method.

The garage can be opened via the detailed view of the reservation on the smartphone. As soon as the button on the right-hand side of the garage starts flashing, the door can be opened by briefly pressing the button. A ramp makes it easier to push the vehicle in and out and can simply be folded down. On collection, the transport wheel is fully charged and connected to the charger, which must be unplugged. There is also a rubber strap to secure the bike in the garage. After gently pulling out the wheel, the tensioning rubber can be removed from the upper bracket. The garages also offer practical accessories such as child hoods and helmets, which is particularly convenient for families with small children. The cost of use is 7 euros per hour or 49 euros per day.

Interior views of the bike garages

A contribution to car-free tourism

The idea for the family runabout arose from considerations about car-free vacations. Travel traffic is a major nuisance, especially in the Alpine region. Every day, tens of thousands of cars roll over the Fernpass, Brenner, Tauern and Karawanken highways. In addition to the great burden on the population, the high financial burden on the public sector for maintenance and the expansion of the infrastructure, tourism and in particular the journey is a major factor in CO2 emissions.

More and more people are switching to public transport and the number of holidaymakers traveling by train is constantly increasing. It is also becoming apparent, particularly in cities, that private cars are becoming less important. Towns and municipalities such as Spittal an der Drau are well connected to the rail network. Spittal can be reached from Vienna in five hours without changing trains. In general, many vacation regions in Austria can be easily reached by train from major cities in neighboring countries. Traveling by train is heavily promoted in Tyrol, for example. One trend is very clear: most holidaymakers do not want to be dependent on their car during their vacation, and it is very often parked at their accommodation during their vacation. Traveling by public transport works very well and this option is being taken up more and more often.

This is where the FamilienFlitzer comes into play. Transport bikes provide guests with ecological mobility on vacation. It helps to counteract tourism-related traffic problems such as space consumption, noise and pollutant emissions. Transport bikes also open up a whole new way of vacationing with children, allowing them to go on bike tours that are fun for everyone. The FamilienFlitzer website describes cycle tours of various lengths, e.g. along the water on the Drau cycle path or to the reservoir.

Sustainable impact away from the vacation

A vacation means a break from everyday routines. It offers the opportunity to try out new things and you are more open to breaking out of familiar patterns. People who rarely use their bikes at home often learn to love them on vacation. In the same way, using transport bikes on vacation can contribute to a rethinking of everyday mobility at home. Those who experience their vacation on a transport bike may also buy one after their vacation.

VCÖ Mobility Award 2024 for the smart rental boxes from Radverteiler

At this year’s VCÖ Mobility Award, the smart rental boxes from Radverteiler were honored in the “Sharing and Mobility as a service” category. The project “Round-the-clock cargo bike rental Salzburg”, which was realized in cooperation with the city of Salzburg, convinced the jury with its smart rental infrastructure – twice, because the prize was won at federal level and in the state category Salzburg!

The City of Salzburg, also a Radkompetenz member, has been offering the sharing bikes at service points during opening hours for several years. In order to provide access to the bikes around the clock and ensure reliable battery charging, the smart rental boxes from Radverteiler were introduced in 2022 and 2023. More locations will soon be added throughout Salzburg, where the transport bikes can be rented and returned seven days a week, around the clock.

Photos: Kleine Zeitung, Martin Hoffmann and Peter Provaznik/KlimaEntLaster.