An unprecedented situation is leaving GIRA users confused. EMEL is already aware of the situation.
Several GIRA stations in the city are having an unusual problem: they have bikes docked and docks in green, but in the app those bikes don't show up and therefore can't be used. Even though it is there and even though it is green. The bug is unusual and EMEL is already trying to figure out how to solve this situation.
Several users of the GIRA reported this difficulty to Lisboa Para Pessoas in the last few days and we had the opportunity to check the bug ourselves. At a station near Instituto Superior Técnico, for example, there were bicycles in green docks but the app showed zero bicycles available. The same happened at the GIRA station in Entrecampos, where there were also bikes docked in green but unavailable on the app. There is also a station in Telheiras that is completely full, although on our phone it appears empty - no bikes available. In some situations, we also found that only non-electric bikes were available for unlocking in the app. Some people are still reporting docks disconnected at some active stations.
GIRA's customer support is already aware of the situation and has been collecting feedback from users of the service in order to map the stations with problems and send this information to EMEL's technical and operational teams. According to Lisboa Para Pessoas, there are problems registered mainly in the Avenidas Novas and Parque das Nações areas, but also in other parts of the city.
Lisbon for People contacted EMEL to find out more details about this problem but has so far received no responsewill update this article as soon as it has more information.
Right now, around 700 GIRA bicycles are in circulationThis is well below the peak figure of 1075 bikes recorded - however, the total fleet is around 1600 bikes at the moment. The network has 130 stations; and the new President of EMEL, Carlos Silva, in an interview with DN this Sunday, promised the expansion of the shared system to "try to reach the largest number of parishes in the municipality of Lisbon". He added that "At the moment we have to make a very important balance of the current project, from a financial point of view. But it is inevitable that it will have to grow, not least because there is strong pressure from parish councils, schools, and now even from participants in congresses in Lisbon, to have GIRA bikes available"..
