Funchal City Council is preparing a shared micromobility pilot with 15 fully electric bicycles for students living in the university residence on Rua de Santa Maria.
The scheme is part of the European In-Mob project, coordinated by the University of Catania, and comes with 144,000 euros of funding for the council. It includes a charging station powered by solar panels, and the service carries no cost for users.
The six-month trial aims to give students a way to travel between the residence and the University of Madeira, while gathering data on how the bikes perform on the island's steep slopes. The launch was marked at the Baltazar Dias Municipal Theatre with the signing of a protocol between the university and the council.