Villo!
Encyclopedia
Villo! is a public bicycle rental programme
Community bicycle program
A bicycle sharing system is a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals who do not own them. Bicycle sharing systems can be divided into two general categories: "Community Bike programs" organized mostly by local community groups or non-profit organizations; and...

 in Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Belgium.

It was launched on 19 May 2009 in cooperation between the Brussels-Capital region and the company JCDecaux
JCDecaux
JCDecaux Group is a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, that is active primarily in advertising....

 as a replacement of the former scheme Cyclocity, launched in 2006. According to the Belgian daily paper La Meuse
La Meuse
La Meuse may refer to:* La Meuse , see List_of_locomotive_builders#Belgium* La Meuse , see List of newspapers in Belgium...

it is more manageable and practical than its predecessor.

By February 2011, 2500 bicycles could be rented at 162 locations spread over 11 of the 19 Brussels communes, namely Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...

, City of Brussels
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the official capital of Belgium by law....

, Etterbeek
Etterbeek
Etterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....

, Ixelles, Jette
Jette
Jette is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Dutch-speaking university of Brussels has built its hospital and medical campus in Jette, while its other buildings are in the so-called Etterbeek campus actually...

, Koekelberg
Koekelberg
Koekelberg is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 the municipality had a total population of 18,157...

, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Saint-Gilles
Saint-Gilles
Saint-Gilles is the name of several places, most of them named after Saint Giles.-Belgium:* Saint-Gilles is the French name for a municipality in the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region...

, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node or Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....

, Schaerbeek and Sint-Agatha-Berchem
Sint-Agatha-Berchem
Sint-Agatha-Berchem or Berchem-Sainte-Agathe is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The municipality had a total population of 20,078 on 1 January 2006...

.
Eventually, bicycles should be available at 180 rental locations throughout the 11 communes at approximately 450m intervals. The other communes should be provided with bicycles in the course of the second phase. However, the decision to launch this phase belongs to the region of Brussels.

The bicycles are equipped with adjustable-height saddle
Bicycle saddle
A bicycle saddle, often called a seat, is one of three contact points on an upright bicycle, the others being the pedals and the handlebars.The bicycle saddle has been known as such since the bicycle evolved from the draisine, a forerunner of the bicycle...

, 7-speed gear
Bicycle gearing
A bicycle gear or gear ratio refers to the rate at which the rider's legs turn compared to the rate at which the wheels turn. Bicycle gearing refers to how the gear ratio is set or changed. On some bicycles, there is only one gear so the ratio is fixed. Most modern bicycles have multiple gears,...

, front basket
Bicycle basket
A bicycle basket allows a bicycle rider to carry cargo or objects without using their hands. Baskets on children's bicycles and some utility bicycles are often mounted to the front handle bars and are made of wire mesh, wicker, or woven plastic...

, covered chain drive
Chain drive
Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles...

, always-on front and rear lights, front and rear disc brakes, puncture-resistant Schwalbe Marathon
Schwalbe
Schwalbe is a brand name of Ralf Bohle GmbH, a German manufacturer of bicycle, Scooter and wheelchair tires. The company is a third generation, family owned Mittelstand business with global reach. Schwalbe produces a wide range of tires for different cycling applications, but is best known for its...

 tires
Bicycle tire
A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the wheel of a bicycle, unicycle, tricycle, quadracycle, bicycle trailer, or trailer bike. They may also be used on wheelchairs and handcycles, especially for racing...

 and integrated bicycle lock
Bicycle lock
A bicycle lock is a physical security device used on a bicycle to prevent theft. It is generally used to fasten the bicycle to a bicycle stand or other immovable object....

; this all adds up to a weight of 22 kg.

As of May 2011, holders of a transit card for STIB, the Brussels mass transit authority, could use their card to access the Villo! network.

Cyclocity

The original cyclocity programme, also run by JCDecaux was launched on 17 September 2006 to coincide with Car Free Day that year. Originally there were 250 bikes available at 23 stations, exclusively in the city of Brussels proper, that is to say the old city. The programme was not a success, with most of the blame going to the limited scope of the network. It was relaunched under the Villo! brand in 2009 with an expanded network.

Bicycle Distribution

Stations especially those at greater elevations are regularly empty. Other stations are regularly full. JCDecaux tries to fix this problem by transporting bicycles between stations with special vans but the service is insufficient. The company has said it will expand some stations to address the problem in September 2010. The independent website "Where's My Villo?" uses real-time data to track the performance of Brussels' bike-sharing scheme, Villo!, and aims to get JCDecaux to improve bike availability.

Tariffs

Tariffs
1 year 1 day 1 week
Basic Tariff € 30 € 1,5 € 7
Number of transportations Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
0 – 30 min Free Free Free
30 min – 1hr + € 0,5 + € 0,5 + € 0,5
1hr – 1,5hr + € 1 + € 1 + € 1
1,5hr – 2hr + € 2 + € 2 + € 2
> 2hr per 30 min. + € 2 + € 2 + € 2

Stations

There are 180 stations in 11 municipalities. The density of stations in each municipality varies from 0.3 stations/km² to 4.5 stations/km².
Municipality No. of stations Area (km²) Density (station/km²)
Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...

5 17,7 0,3
Sint-Agatha-Berchem
Sint-Agatha-Berchem
Sint-Agatha-Berchem or Berchem-Sainte-Agathe is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The municipality had a total population of 20,078 on 1 January 2006...

2 2,9 0,7
City of Brussels
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the official capital of Belgium by law....

59 32,6 1,8
Etterbeek
Etterbeek
Etterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....

10 3,1 3,2
Ixelles 27 6,3 4,3
Jette
Jette
Jette is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Dutch-speaking university of Brussels has built its hospital and medical campus in Jette, while its other buildings are in the so-called Etterbeek campus actually...

8 5,0 1,6
Koekelberg
Koekelberg
Koekelberg is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 the municipality had a total population of 18,157...

5 1,2 4,2
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek 10 5,9 1,7
Saint-Gilles
Saint-Gilles
Saint-Gilles is the name of several places, most of them named after Saint Giles.-Belgium:* Saint-Gilles is the French name for a municipality in the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region...

11 2,5 4,4
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node or Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....

5 1,1 4,4
Schaerbeek 38 8,1 4,5


Details of the stations:

External links

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