Direct answer: you can give your students electric bikes without buying bikes or running them. With Cityflow you choose between two models: the residence pays a fee and students use the bikes for free, or the student pays €5 on the day they use one and it costs the residence nothing. In both, the operation is Cityflow's.
This article is about one specific decision: whether you pay for your students' mobility or the people who use it do, and why buying bikes and lending them out usually ends up being expensive. How the service works from start to finish is in the guide to electric bikes for student residences.
Why does buying bikes and lending them out usually go wrong?
Because the bike is the easy part: the hard part is everything that comes afterwards, and it lands on your team. Buying a few bikes and lending them out from reception looks like the cheap way to give students mobility. At first it usually works. Then the tasks that weren't in the budget start to appear:
- Breakdowns. Punctures, brakes, lights. Someone has to take the bike to the workshop or know how to fix it.
- Charging. Someone has to charge the batteries, decide where they're charged and have them ready in the morning.
- Theft and bikes that don't come back. Without GPS, a bike that doesn't come back is a lost bike. And you take out and manage the insurance yourself.
- Who handles support. If the bike fails mid-afternoon, the student goes to reception, which can't fix it.
- Idle bikes. The broken bike nobody repairs ends up in a corner, and the fleet falls short without anyone having decided it.
None of these problems is unusual. They're the normal work of running a bike fleet, and a residence isn't set up to do it.
What changes if Cityflow runs the bikes?
Those risks stop being yours. With Cityflow, maintenance, repairs, charging, insurance, GPS and student support, in the student's own language, are Cityflow's job in both models. Reception doesn't hand out keys, doesn't take payments and doesn't deal with bike issues.
| Buying bikes and lending them out | Bikes run by Cityflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Buying bikes | Bikes, locks and racks, on day one | None |
| Breakdowns and repairs | Your team or a workshop, with its invoices | Cityflow, included |
| Charging | Your team | Cityflow |
| A bike that doesn't come back | You lose it | GPS, smart lock and insurance |
| Student support | Reception | Cityflow, in the student's language |
| Brand on the bike | Yours | Yours |
In the student's eyes, the bike is still your residence's: it carries your colours and your logo. What stops being yours is the work.
Which two models does Cityflow offer?
Cityflow offers two, and the residence chooses.
Model A: the residence includes it. The residence pays Cityflow a fee, on request, and students use the bikes for free. It's the way to fully subsidise mobility: the bike becomes part of what the stay includes.
Model B: whoever uses it pays. The student pays €5 on the day they use it and it costs the residence nothing. It's the model that works best in Barcelona.
| Model A: the residence includes it | Model B: the student pays | |
|---|---|---|
| What the student pays | Nothing | €5 on the day they use it |
| What the residence pays | A fee, on request | Nothing |
| What the residence takes on | The fee, but not the operation | Nothing |
| What the residence gains | An included service to show on the tour | The service, without adding a fixed cost |
How do you decide whether to pay for it yourself?
It depends on whether you want the bike to be part of your price or a service paid for by whoever uses it. Three questions help you decide:
- Is your stay sold as “all-inclusive”? If Wi-Fi, cleaning or the gym are already in the price, the bike fits there: model A.
- Do you have budget for a fixed fee this academic year? If not, model B lets you offer the bike without touching the budget.
- Do you know how many students will use it? If you don't, in model B the residence pays nothing, whether many or few use it.
The guide goes through in more detail when each model fits. If you're unsure, Cityflow will look at it with you using your residence's numbers.
How do you tell your students?
With one line that says who pays, and the same line everywhere: on the website, on the tour, in the contract and in the welcome.
- Model A: “The electric bike is included in your stay”. Better to avoid “subsidised” or “discounted”: to the student it sounds as though they'll have to pay something.
- Model B: “There are electric bikes at the residence for €5 on each day you use one”. Never “it's free”.
In both, the same closing line: if something goes wrong, students message Cityflow, not reception. What to put on the sign next to the bikes and in the welcome message is in the practical guide on how to avoid surprise charges when returning the bike.
How do you get started?
- You tell Cityflow about your residence: city, number of beds and opening date if it's new.
- You choose model A or B, or ask for help choosing.
- Cityflow suggests how many bikes to start with and, in model A, the fee.
- The bikes arrive carrying your brand. From then on, the operation is Cityflow's.
The full service is on electric bikes for student residences. If you want to see it with your residence's numbers, talk to sales.
Frequently asked questions
Can I offer electric bikes to my students without buying bikes?
Yes. With Cityflow, the residence doesn't buy any bikes: either it pays a fee and students use them for free, or the student pays €5 on the day they use one and it costs the residence nothing.
What does the residence take on in each model?
If the residence includes the bike, it takes on a fee to Cityflow, on request; if the student pays, nothing. In both models, maintenance, repairs, charging, insurance, GPS and student support are Cityflow's job.
Which model works best?
In Barcelona, the one where the student pays: €5 on the day they use it, and the residence pays nothing. If you'd rather the bike were included in the stay, the other model allows it.
How do I present the bike if the residence includes it?
As part of the stay, with a line such as “The electric bike is included in your stay”. It's better not to call it “subsidised” or “discounted”, because to the student it sounds as though they'll have to pay something.
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