Good for Business, Latvia, LIVE RIGA, Tourism, Transport

This will improve the popular self-service bike rental, as new and better stand locations will make it more convenient for residents and tourists alike to use this green and environmentally-friendly form of transport, informed BC vice president of corporate communications at airBaltic Janis Vanags.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “BalticBike has become an integral part of Riga. Originally popular for tourists, the bicycles are increasingly used by local residents as a green form of transportation. In 2011, the overall rentals have more than tripled to 15 000, compared to a year earlier. Thus landowners, who can offer as little as 4 to 10 square meters of land for the bike stand, attract the attention of environmentally-conscious tourists and local residents, who may become new customers for their business – café, bar, restaurant, shop or hotel.”

Landowners willing to propose their land for BalticBike are invited to do so until March 14, 2012. Details of this initiative are available at BalticBike.com.

BalticBike bicycles are available at 19 stands – 16 in Riga, and 3 in Jurmala. In 2011, the proportion of local residents who rent BalticBikes has increased to 70%. It represents a change in the trend, as in 2010 the BalticBike bicycles were equally popular among both residents and guests of Riga and Jurmala. This indicates that due to the competitive price of EUR 1 (Ls 0.70) per hour, BalticBike bicycles are becoming a very popular form of transportation among residents of Riga and Jurmala. BalticBike rental service is owned and operated by airBaltic.