With more than 30,000 inhabitants, the parish of Olivais is one of the most populous in the city of Lisbon and is now part of the in the GIRA network. Lisbon's public bike-sharing system, managed by EMEL, arrived in Olivais on Thursday, July 29, with the opening of five stations in the parish. Four more will follow in the coming weeks.
The first GIRA stations to become operational in Olivais are:
- Luso Town Square;
- Av. Berlin/R. Cidade Cabinda;
- Av. Dr. Francisco Gomes/Go Fit;
- R. Cidade Benguela/Av. Cidade Luanda;
- Berlin Avenue Baden Powell Square.
Lisbon now has 96 GIRA stations in operation, representing a total of around 1,800 bicycle docks, with a further 49 stations due to be installed by the end of September - coinciding with the timetable for the Velo-city, the biggest conference on bicycle mobility that Lisbon is hosting this year between the 6th and 9th of that month. The new stations will be in place by September in Benfica, São Domingos de BenficaCarnide, Lumiar/Telheiras and on the 24 de Julho/Avenida da Índia axis to Restelo.
Launched at the end of 2017, GIRA had a few setbacks in the first few years, which contributed to a visible degradation of the system. However, it has recently had several new features. In addition to a renewed app and new bikesNew stations were installed throughout the city - in neighborhoods not yet covered by the system, such as Olivais - and old stations that had been suspended were opened: four in the University Cityin May; and three on the waterfront, including Belém, at the beginning of July.
The network currently has more than 900 bicycles in circulation. EMEL plans to open four more stations in the parish of Olivais over the next few weeksGIRA will now have around a hundred stations. But more news is to come, with the expansion of the network with more stations beyond September and the acquisition of more bikes (a public tender is still underway for the purchase of a batch of between 1,700 and 2,000 units, depending on the total price). At the same time, two features have yet to be launched on the bikes that are now being put into circulation: the child seat in the back and the digital bike lock with lock and app.
EMEL also says that "is working to make the creation of a Navegante + GIRA combination possible for September/October". When asked for more details - for example, about the model they might adopt (whether to integrate the GIRA into the value of the pass or to offer it for an extra month), EMEL says it is still too early to respond.
