Nextbike bites the dust as free buses and e-scooters make their mark

Nextbike, launched in 2016, said lack of adequate urban cycling infrastructure and competition from other mobility options all played a role in the decision to terminate operations

Nextbike, Malta’s first bicycle-sharing company, has announced it will terminate operations as competition from free public transport and e-scooters have left their mark.

The company cited the other micro-mobility choices but also a lack of infrastructure to encourage urban riding, as significant factors that led to the termination of the service.

Launched in 2016, at its peak however Nextbike had just 60 hubs around the island and over 400 bikes, some of which were e-bikes. The company registered operational losses of €70,500 in 2017, and thereafter a €56,000 loss in 2018 and a €58,000 loss in 2019 right up to the pandemic.

The company said in a statement to customers that, while it was glad to have offered the service and hoped to be a “driving force” for a modal shift in transportation, it had experienced severe obstacles.

“The rise of alternative micro-mobility systems, ride-hailing services, and free public transit, all of which are critical components of multi-modal transportation, has pushed Nextbike to contend with severe competition in recent years.”

Owned by Alan Camilleri and Fino subsidiary Tamarac, the company also blamed “the lack of adequate urban cycling infrastructure and a general deterioration of road safety” which leads existing and potential users to shy away from using the service.

Camilleri is also an investor with Kenneth De Martino in the Whizzascoot provider of e-kick scooters and moto-scooters.

“Additionally, the regular vandalism and theft as well as two years of COVID have had a devastating impact on the profitability of the company,” the company said.

Despite its own obstacles, Nextbike claims there is a “clear” market for cycling in Malta, which will be difficult to thrive without government assistance. “A nationwide bike-sharing scheme is required, but the unit economics of these systems will not operate unless the government actively supports, promotes, and offers incentives for people to utilise bicycles as a replacement mode of transportation.”

The company’s customer service number (+356 2099 6666) remains in service up until 21 January.