Jagiellonian University students will be able to use city bike rental services with special privileges. Instead of the standard fee of 0.16 złotys (~0.04 euro) per minute, they will only pay 0.06 złotys (~0.01 euro). It is the effect of a cooperation agreement signed between the Jagiellonian University and Wavelo, the bike sharing service in Kraków. The programme, which is a pilot scheme, started last Saturday.
The partnership with Wavelo, first entered into by the JU Medical College, will now become University-wide. Within the framework of the agreement, JU students will be eligible to take advantage of the Pay As You Go plan (PAYG), which charges users per every minute of cycling, on preferential terms: instead of paying 0.16 złotys, they will only pay 0.6 złotys, with the Jagiellonian University funding the rest.
‘I must admit: when we first started negotiating with the JU authorities and Wavelo, I didn’t suspect that we’ll be able to offer our fellow students a low-cost bike rental scheme as early as September. We’re very happy that the Jagiellonian University has granted our requests and backed this innovative green initiative’, said Jakub Bakonyi, president of the JU Student Government. ‘Universities shouldn't only give their students knowledge and skills, but also teach them about good social awareness and pro-health attitude. I think that facilitating the use of city bikes as a sustainable and ecological mode of transport definitely fits that last part of the University’s mission. I hope that the project turns out to be successful and appreciated by both current and prospective students’, he added.
As of now, the agreement between the Jagiellonian University and Wavelo is in a trial period. It will last until the end of December or until the limit of 10,000 participants is reached. The offer is open to students with an active University e-mail address.
‘We’re proud to announce our cooperation with the best university in Poland, which now becomes the forerunner in student bike rental services in Kraków. We’ll join our forces together in September, meeting the needs of students who have to take care of organisational affairs before the academic year begins in earnest’, said Marcin Jeż, Director of Strategy and Business Development of BikeU, the owner of Wavelo bikes.
Wavelo is the most advanced bike sharing system in Europe. The bikes are contain innovative design element, such as universal joints, GPS tracking, solar panel, and a dynamo for powering the bike’s electronics. They operate using a system developed by BikeU, which provides similar services for other companies in Poland and is part of the international Egis Group.
