Who lives or visited Brussels will be aware of them. The yellow bikes you can share and use in city. However I recently bought my own bike, I was using Villo in the past (well, when it was not raining you know) and now I’m still using these shared bikes in addition of my own one. For example, I take the Villo to avoid leaving my bike during multiple nights at the station or when I go to the restaurant and I know I won’t be able to ride afterward as I’ll drink a glass too much.
I discovered that I didn’t speak a lot about this green alternative (on my social media) to the electrical steps or the use of cars in the city. And to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the electrical steps simply because they have a short ‘life’ and the lithium battery is proven not to be as ecological as most people might think.
So, what is Villo ?
Villo is a network of shared bikes with no-free-floating stations in Brussels, like you can find Velib in Paris, the Santander Cycles in London and many others around the world. This Brussels bike sharing company has 180 stations and more or less 2500 bikes on the entire region. As all stations are automatic that allow you to use it every day, 24/7.
And soon, Villo will announce a new type of electrical bikes. So you’ll be able to get easier and faster to your business meeting or at work without being (that) sweaty.
How to use it?
To use a Villo bike, you need a ticket or be a member of the Villo network. It is possible to buy tickets from the website or at all stations equipped with a card reader. There are tickets for 1 day, a week (7 days) or a yearly pass. I am using the last one. You can easily charge it on your Mobib card (a belgian type of digital card for public transport) that you just need one card for all kind of public transport within Brussels.
When you need to get from the lower part to the high side of city, take into account that using the Villo bike make you sport even a bit more. Due to the security system installed to attach them to the stations, the bikes can be heavier than other bikes. But another positive point of going up is that there is usually a lot of empty spots to park your bikes. And sometimes Villo promotes the up-town stations by offering you extra minutes when you park it there.
If you ask me, Villo is not only a perfect way to move in the city, as alternative to the car (more and more bicycle paths) and to the electrical step, it is also a great addition to the public transports and a sportive way to discover the city.
This is a partnered blogpost with Villo!
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