Ewout Oonk with one of his shared bikes. Photo Stijn van Gils
In the summer, Oonk placed eight bicycles on campus and in Idealis buildings. You can hire these bikes using an app partly developed by him. After use, you return the bike to one of the cycle sheds in the scheme.
Oonk has now increased the number of bikes to 20. He has also introduced a subscription system that makes it cheaper for frequent users and he advertises the scheme on Facebook. Oonk even visited the developers of the companion app in the Slovakian capital Bratislava to swap experiences. But this has not brought much success so far. ‘There have been 20 trips in total since 1 September. Although there is growth from week to week.’
Oonk thinks the problem is a lack of awareness, as well as the target group. ‘Most people who live here already have a bike.’ So he wants to focus more on students and staff who come to Wageningen by public transport or car. That is why he wants to place bikes at Ede-Wageningen station and in the town centre too.
Go towww.cykl.nlto try out the app.