Barcelona’s public transport operator, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), has begun offering e-bike charging using power recovered from its metro trains. The Metrolinera project is an effort to utilise energy that would otherwise be lost.
A pilot was recently launched at the Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica station where nine modular charging lockers have been installed near the zoo entrance.
These battery lockers, provided by a firm called MyLock, provide a means to recharge using energy generated by the braking of the trains.
At the minute, students from Pompeu Fabra University – which is next to the station – are testing the service free of charge. The general public are also being given access with an initial 50 per cent discount.
These promotions end on October 24, although members of TMB’s catchily-named loyalty programme, JoTMBé, will still be able to get 50 per cent off from then on.
The initiative arose from an entrepreneurship challenge where TMB invited its employees to envisage the station of the future.
TMB president Laia Bonet said the service would help those who combined public transport with “personal mobility products such as e-scooters” when making journeys around the city.
