The first attempt of establishing a unified bike sharing system in Izola and Koper was not successful. The contract between the two municipalities and the Ibis multimedia company, which set up a system for automated bike rentals, was cancelled three years ago. Foto: Radio Koper/Dean Vatovec
The first attempt of establishing a unified bike sharing system in Izola and Koper was not successful. The contract between the two municipalities and the Ibis multimedia company, which set up a system for automated bike rentals, was cancelled three years ago. Foto: Radio Koper/Dean Vatovec

In the past ten years the length of Koper’s bicycle paths has tripled. The city’s basic cycling infrastructure is mostly well organized, but that’s not the case for Koper’s surroundings. A pressing issue is the lack of adequate and safe parking zones for bicycles in front of public institutions and at the starting points of daily commuters.

According to local residents, more people would use bicycles as a means of transport if the city’s traffic and cycling infrastructure was better connected and safe. There are some of the findings of a comprehensive traffic strategy, which includes that Koper’s residents do miss a public bike sharing program.

Several years ago the municipality entrusted the Ibis company to establish such a system, however the company soon emptied and removed all the bicycle stations from Koper and Izola. The plan for a new bicycle sharing program has already been approved by the municipality council. According to the plan, there will be 17 bicycle stations in the city and some of the neighborhoods – some will be bigger than others. On offer will be a total of 102 electric bicycles. The investment is valued at 820 thousand euros. The municipality hopes to secure around 40% of that sum from the state budget and EU funds.