As part of a ballot during the StuRa elections in 2018, the student body voted in favor of a three-year cooperation with nextbike (“CampusBike project”) with a majority of 67.27%. This cooperation was approved by the StuRa in its 131. meeting – not least on the basis of this survey with more than 1200 participants* – with a vote of 26/11/13 votes for another three years.
On this page we would like to give you all relevant information about the cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact verkehrsreferat@stura.uni-heidelberg.de .
Overview
- How does it all work?
- What are the contract terms?
- What stations are there?
- I already have a bike. What does the cooperation bring me?
- Who is nextbike GmbH?
- To ask?
How does it all work?
After registering at www.vrnnextbike.de , you can either use the nextbike app, a phone number that you have to call, or use your PIN or a customer card on the touch panel at the station terminal to rent a VRNnextbike. After the successful rental, the lock of the bike will open or you will receive the corresponding numerical code. Now you can ride the VRNnextbike. If you want to return it, you can simply bring it back to any VRNnextbike station. You can find all the details explained again here .
What are the contract terms?
After you have registered with your university email address, you can use a nextbike for 30 minutes per ride free of charge . You can Ride as often as you like per day , the only important thing is that 15 minutes must have passed before your next rental. If you exceed the 30 minutes, you pay 0.50 euros for each additional half hour. You can not only use the rental bikes in Heidelberg, Mannheim and the other cities in the VRN area, but free of charge almost everywhere in Germany where there are currently nextbikes (apart from Usedom, Bremen, Kiel, Munich and Nuremberg). You can find a detailed overview of the locations here .
nextbike is responsible for the maintenance and distribution of the bikes. The aim is for this to be adapted as required, so that stations are only not equipped with bicycles in exceptional situations. In addition, nextbike undertakes to create a report every semester that shows the use of the offer by the students.
The semester fee for the winter semester 2021/22 includes a flat rate of 2.50 euros and from the summer semester 2023 of 2.55 euros .
What stations are there?
You can find an overview of the currently existing stations in Heidelberg here . The system has been further expanded in recent years and now includes almost 40 available stations in Heidelberg. Many student hotspots, such as the Im Neuenheimer Feld campus, are already connected. In the course of the cooperation, however, it is clear to us that further stations are necessary. For this reason, we will have a say in setting up up to five new stations. We are particularly committed to ensuring that the large student dormitories, e.g. in the field or at the Hohlbeinring, are well connected. We are also committed to expanding across the board. It is particularly important to us that students from Dossenheim, Pfaffengrund and Eppelheim are also connected to the nextbike network and that the number of stations in Rohrbach is further expanded. Here, our wishes can be reacted to directly by setting up so-called virtual stations. These make it possible to park and borrow bicycles in an area marked in the app, even before a fixed station has been installed.
I already have a bike. What does the cooperation bring me?
There are a number of situations in which using a nextbike could still be of interest to you. The classic situation is conceivable, for example, that you have visitors and now have to deal with the question of how to get around within Heidelberg. Of course, public transport is an option, but it is much less flexible and, above all, costs more for one trip (2.60 euros) than you would have to pay for the VRNnextbikes for a whole semester. You can now simply borrow an additional bike free of charge, with which you and your visitors can be mobile within Heidelberg. Even if your bike breaks down, you don’t have to worry about it anymore and your mobility is significantly restricted for a while, but you can always switch to VRNnextbikes at short notice. And even if you live in the Heidelberg area and therefore – unfortunately – there is (still) no station in your place of residence, the offer is interesting for you. Consistent “ride and bike” uses are conceivable, for example. You can take the train into the city, but then you no longer have to use the bus or train to switch between campuses, you can simply cycle, for example, to the city center. Drive from Bergheim to Neuenheimer Feld or to the old town. Furthermore, when visiting other German cities with nextbike systems, there is the possibility of borrowing bicycles free of charge.
Who is nextbike GmbH?
nextbike GmbH was founded in Leipzig in 2004 and is Germany’s largest bicycle rental company. It operates in over 25 countries on four different continents. Since the end of March 2015 there has been a cooperation between VRN and nextbike GmbH with VRNnextbike. The VRN has commissioned nextbike GmbH to expand stations throughout the VRN area. The cities of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ladenburg, Dossenheim, Schwetzingen, Ludwigshafen, Speyer, Worms and Kaiserslauten have already been included .
To ask?
If you have any further questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact the transport department at any time!