Students and employees of The Hochschule Niederrhein can now use bike-sharing bicycles free of charge at all university locations. On the initiative of the General Students' Committee (AStA) of The Hochschule Niederrhein, a pilot project is being launched on the Krefeld campus that complements the existing local transport services and offers a sustainable way to move flexibly between the stations that have been set up.
In coordination with the city of Krefeld, 40 bicycles from the provider nextbike are available at stations in the vicinity of the Krefeld university location: at Krefeld South Campus, Krefeld West Campus, Future Work Lab and Krefeld Central Station, and bikes can currently only be borrowed and returned at these four stations. A service fee is charged for bicycles left outside the designated stations.
The AStA had campaigned for the introduction to the bike sharing service at the Krefeld location after the system had been successfully used at the Mönchengladbach location for several years. "In 2024 alone, more than 24,000 rentals were recorded by students at The Hochschule Niederrhein in Mönchengladbach," says AStA member Jerôme Dutka. The student body has been intensively involved in cycling for years. Students regularly take part in campaigns such as city cycling and organise joint bike tours.
Students and employees of the university can use the bikes free of charge for 60 minutes per hire. The prerequisite is registration in the Nextbike app with the personal university e-mail address. If the journey takes longer than 60 minutes, 0.50 euros will be charged for every 30 minutes. The maximum daily rate is 5.00 euros. The special conditions apply in Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, in the metropolradruhr area, in Lippstadt, Leverkusen and Cologne.
The pilot project is currently being financed primarily by the student body at the Krefeld campus and proportionately by The Hochschule Niederrhein. "The bike-sharing service is an additional, climate-friendly mobility option for our students and employees," emphasises Professor Fabienne Köller-Marek, Chancellor of The Hochschule Niederrhein. The pilot scheme will initially run until the end of August. The aim of the AStA is to establish a permanent and comprehensive bike-sharing service in Krefeld.
The city of Krefeld is supporting the project as part of its activities to promote sustainable mobility and is providing the parking spaces at Krefeld railway station. "It is important for the city council to create good framework conditions for sustainable mobility options. In this specific case, bike sharing makes a valuable contribution to local mobility by connecting the main railway station to Krefeld's university campuses. As the city of Krefeld, we were therefore happy to support this initiative by providing suitable parking spaces. This also fits in with our recently adopted cycling concept, which we are currently implementing step by step in Krefeld," emphasises Krefeld's Head of Planning, Marcus Beyer. The citizens of Krefeld also benefit from the offer, as the bikes can generally be used by everyone.
