The Pedala Rio program was launched today with the opening of two bicycle rental stations on the Copacabana beach front. If the city is chosen to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, several of the events will be held in this neighborhood. Another six rental stations will be opened there by the end of the year, three of them located close to metro stations, which will encourage integration between transportation modes. Inspired by the French Vèlib model, the initiative is a partnership between the city government and Brazilian company Serttel Ltda, which won the bid to operate the program.

At 140 kilometers, Rio has the biggest network of cycle paths in Brazil, and was the first city to implement a public bike rental program in Latin America. Sérgio Belo, deputy director of Pereira Passos Institute (IPP), a city government urban planning body, thinks the program will be a hit. “I believe that people are going to use the bicycles a lot. This time of year is conducive to this. There are school holidays and it is the high season when we receive many tourists. In terms of the stations’ locations, I think that Pedala Rio is going to be well received,” he said. He also emphasized the importance of the program for Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.  “The initiative is very important for the environment, since it will cut car use and integrate transport modes in the city. Beyond this, Rio is the first city in the country to create this system. I believe that these factors will positively impact the Rio 2016 campaign,” added Belo.

In the next 15 months, another 50 station openings are planned in various neighborhoods in the city’s South Zone, such as Ipanema, Leblon and Lagoa, as well as Tijuca in the North Zone and the central business district. The deputy director of IPP said there is a chance the program could be expanded to the Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá regions. “We thought about placing stations in the Barra da Tijuca region to begin with because of the sports facilities built for the 2007 Pan American Games, but we preferred to start with a smaller program. I believe that with the success of the system, it will be expanded to this region.”

The Pedala Rio stations will hold 10 to 14 bicycles and function from 6am to 10pm.  In order to rent the bicycles, it will be necessary to register on the internet and choose one of the available plans. The first 30 minutes of use will be free. The service will be in a testing phase until 29 December 2008 in order to identify problems and improve the system.