Nearly 98% would recommend it to someone else
In a city long shaped by the rhythms of the automobile, Madrid's Bicimad has quietly rewritten how tens of thousands of people move through their days. On a single September morning, more than 66,000 riders chose an electric bike over every other option available to them — a record that speaks not just to convenience, but to a deeper shift in how urban dwellers are choosing to inhabit their streets. The satisfaction data that followed confirms what the numbers suggest: this is not a service people tolerate, but one they have genuinely adopted as their own.
- A single-day record of 66,000 riders on September 9th signals that Bicimad has crossed from useful experiment into essential urban infrastructure.
- The tension between car-dependent habits and sustainable mobility is quietly resolving — 13% of users confirm they would have driven instead, meaning thousands of car trips are being erased daily.
- Nearly 98% of riders say they'd recommend the service, and 96.6% would keep using it even if alternatives existed — loyalty this strong is rare in public transit and harder to manufacture than any fleet expansion.
- Morning commutes dominate usage, but the system is threading itself into social life too — errands, friendships, exercise, and study all appear in the data, suggesting the bikes are becoming a general-purpose layer of city movement.
- With 7,735 bikes across 630 stations and satisfaction scores holding firm across 21 districts, the city's challenge has shifted from proving the model to deciding how ambitiously to scale it.
On September 9th, Madrid's Bicimad recorded its highest single-day ridership ever: more than 66,000 people chose an electric bike from the city's public fleet. To understand who those riders were and what they wanted, the city commissioned a satisfaction study — 1,200 face-to-face interviews spread across all 21 districts.
The portrait that emerged is of a service embedded in everyday life. Nearly a third of users ride two or three times a week. Forty percent of all trips happen in the early morning. Work commutes account for just over a quarter of journeys, but social outings, studying, and leisure fill the rest. Older riders — those over 55 — use the bikes almost entirely for exercise and recreation, while working-age adults between 26 and 54 lean heavily on Bicimad to get to their jobs.
The satisfaction figures are unusually strong for a public service. Nearly 98% of riders say they would recommend Bicimad to others. Eighty-six percent rate it between 7 and 10 out of 10. Comfort, cleanliness, and maintenance all earned favorable marks, and the app managing the system scored a 7.7, with most users finding it easy to navigate and reliable. Three districts — Villa de Vallecas, Villaverde, and Chamartín — saw every measured category rated at 8 or above.
What may matter most is what the data implies beyond satisfaction: 96.6% of riders say they would continue using Bicimad even if other options existed for the same routes. And 13% confirm they would have driven a car or motorcycle instead. In a city still shaped by automobile culture, that figure represents a quiet but measurable shift — thousands of car trips replaced, daily, by something quieter and cleaner. The system has stopped asking whether it works. The question now is how far it goes.
Madrid's public bike-sharing system, Bicimad, has become a fixture of the city's daily movement. On September 9th, the service hit a milestone: more than 66,000 people rode bikes that single day, the highest number in the system's history. The achievement caps months of steady growth, and the city commissioned a satisfaction study to understand who was using the bikes and why.
Researchers conducted 1,200 face-to-face interviews across Madrid's 21 districts, asking riders about their habits, their satisfaction, and what the bikes meant to them. The numbers paint a picture of a service deeply woven into urban life. Nearly a third of users—31%—ride two or three times a week. Forty percent of all trips happen in the morning, between 5 and 10 a.m. The youngest riders, ages 16 to 25, use the system most frequently, but the service has found audiences across age groups. Among those 26 to 39, more than a third use Bicimad to get to work. That figure climbs to 34.4% for riders between 40 and 54.
Work commutes account for 26.4% of all trips, but they're far from the only reason people ride. Social outings—meeting friends, running errands—drive 27.8% of journeys. Studying accounts for 16.8%. Among older riders, the bikes serve a different purpose entirely. Three-quarters of users over 55 say they ride for exercise and leisure. For the 40-to-54 crowd, that figure is 28.2%. The system has grown to 7,735 bikes spread across 630 stations throughout the city.
The satisfaction numbers are striking. Nearly 98% of riders say they would recommend Bicimad to someone else. Eighty-six percent rate the service between 7 and 10 out of 10. When asked about specific aspects—the comfort of the bikes, their cleanliness, maintenance, and reliability—users gave consistently high marks. Eighty-three percent expressed satisfaction with comfort. Eighty percent praised cleanliness. Seventy-six percent rated maintenance favorably. The bikes themselves scored 7.5 out of 10 for condition, while comfort earned a 7.8.
Three districts—Villa de Vallecas, Villaverde, and Chamartín—saw users rate every measured category at 8 or above. Eight other districts had similarly strong showings in individual categories. The app that manages the system earned a 7.7 out of 10, with users particularly pleased by how easily they could check bike and station availability. Eighty-four percent found the app easy to use. Eighty-two percent could navigate its features without trouble. Eighty percent trusted its reliability.
Perhaps most telling: 96.6% of riders said they would keep using Bicimad even if other transportation options existed for the same routes. The system appears to have won genuine loyalty, not just convenience. The environmental case is harder to quantify but present. Thirteen percent of users report they would have driven a car or motorcycle instead, had Bicimad not existed. Sixty-five percent say they might have taken public transit. Twenty-one percent would have walked. The bikes are pulling people out of cars and onto the streets in a way that suggests real, measurable impact on Madrid's air and congestion. As the system continues to grow, the question is no longer whether it works—the data says it does—but how far it can expand.
Citas Notables
96.6% of riders said they would continue using Bicimad even if other transportation options existed for the same routes— User satisfaction study
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
What strikes you most about these numbers?
That 96.6% figure. People aren't using Bicimad because they have to. They're using it because they prefer it. That's not adoption—that's loyalty.
But work trips are only 26% of rides. Where's the real volume coming from?
Social trips. Exercise. The system isn't just solving the commute problem anymore. It's become part of how people move through the city for everything. That's how you know it's embedded.
The app gets a 7.7. That's solid but not exceptional. Does that matter?
Not really. People aren't downloading Bicimad for the app experience. They're downloading it to find a bike. As long as it does that reliably, which it does, the score is almost beside the point.
The 13% who switched from cars—is that significant?
It's the beginning of something. Thirteen percent doesn't sound like much until you realize it's 13% of 66,000 people on a single day. Scale that across a year, and you're talking about real air quality impact. But the real number might be the 65% who could have taken transit instead. That's where the system is winning.
What about the older riders? That 75% using it for exercise?
That's the story nobody expected. A bike-sharing system designed for commuters became a fitness and leisure tool for people over 55. That changes how you think about public infrastructure. It's not just about getting to work anymore.