Social implications

In cities, bicycles helped reduce crowding in inner-city tenements by allowing workers to commute from more spacious dwellings in the suburbs. They also reduced dependence on horses, with all the knock-on effects this brought to society. Bicycles allowed people to travel for leisure into the country, since bicycles were three times as energy efficient as walking, and three to four times as fast. Cycling has many health benefits and does not directly contribute to global warming or environmental pollution

Several European cities have implemented successful schemes that use bicycles as a way of public transport. Users can take a bicycle at a parking station, use it for a limited amount of time, and then return it to the same, or a different, station. Examples of such schemes are Bicing in Barcelona, Vélo'v in Lyon and Vélib' in Paris.

Uses for bicycles

Main article: Cycling

Bicycles have been and are employed for many uses.

* Utility: bicycle commuting and utility cycling
* Work: mail delivery, paramedics, police, and general delivery.
* Recreation: bicycle touring, mountain biking, BMX and physical fitness.
* Racing: track racing, criterium, roller racing and time trial to multi-stage events like the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
* Military: scouting, troop movement, supply of provisions, and patrol. See bicycle infantry.
* Show: entertainment and performance, e.g. circus clowns

Bicing is the name of a community bicycle program in Barcelona inaugurated in March 2007, similar to the Vélo'v service in Lyon and Vélib' in Paris. Its purpose is to cover the small and medium daily routes within the city in a climate friendly way, almost without pollution (specially the emission of finest particulate matter), roadway noise, traffic congestion and to reclaim the urban streets with non-polluting vehicles.

Operation
The city council and Clear Channel manage and maintain the system. To use it one must acquire a yearly or weekly membership. Currently the network consists of more than 100 stations to lend and return the more than 1500 bikes distributed throughout the system. The stations are situated through the inner-city with a distance of around 300 to 400 metres between each one, with many situated next to public transport stops to allow for intermodal use. The Metro Stations usually have signs pointing to the locations of nearest Bicing stations. The bikes can be lent from, and returned to, any station in the system, making it suitable for one way travel. Each station has between 15 and 30 parking slots to fix and lock the bicycle.
To lend a bike one simply swipes the contactless RFID-card at a service station to be personally identified by the system, which then unlocks a bike from the support frame. Bicycles can be used for the first 30 minutes with no extra cost, with subsequent half hour blocks (up to 2 hours) costing 0.30 Euros each. Use of a bicycle for more than 2 hours at a time is discouraged with a penalty rate of 3 Euros per hour, but also with the possibility of having your membership cancelled after a certain number of uses in excess of 2 hours. To return a bicycle one simply places the bike in a spare slot at a Bicing station, the bike is recognised automatically and is locked into place (as indicated by the small light at the slot turning red), so one does not need to swipe the RFID-card to return the bike.

Specialised vans are used to redistribute Bicing bicycles between the stations should it be required to even out usage patterns. However, as of November 2007, the number and frequency of vans is not able to keep up during the peak hours, making it very difficult to find a spot where to return the bike.

To use the system you must become a member. Subscription to the system is possible through the Bicing website (), or through visiting the service office. The provision of a credit card number is necessary. The Bicing member cards are only sent to Spanish addresses in an attempt to prevent tourists from using the system. Pre-existing local bike hire companies feared what they called illicit competition from the Bicing system.