Barcelona’s Bicing set to reach 20 million annual trips

Barcelona’s public bike-sharing service Bicing is on course to reach 20 million journeys in 2026, representing a 66 percent increase compared with 2019, as the city reports continued growth in ridership and particularly strong demand for e-bikes.

The service has seen sustained growth in both journeys and users since the current Bicing contract began in 2019, with more than 170,000 people now using the system. This summer continued that trend, with average daily use increasing compared with both last summer and the winter months.

Electric bikes are increasingly central to that growth, now accounting for more than eight in ten Bicing journeys. During July and August, an e-bike was taken approximately every two seconds across the city.

The strong summer use came despite periods of extreme heat affecting the charging of e-bike batteries. In response, Bicing introduced measures including adaptations to battery and station charging systems, additional street maintenance and workshop resources, and increased redistribution of bikes to areas of high demand.

Bicing says heat-related incidents affecting its electric bikes subsequently fell by 82 percent.

Francesc Delgado, Director of New Mobility at BSM, which operates the Bicing system, said: “This summer, we deployed a specific action plan to ensure the maximum availability of electric bicycles during periods of extreme heat.”

The service recorded 4.3 percent more daily journeys this summer than during the same period in 2025, despite the challenging conditions.