Ajankohtaista
12.3.2020
Winter report
26.11.2019
Events, pilot projects, and city bikes
Summer summary
This time round, we’ve seen winter go by in rather mild, almost snow-free environs, at least in South Finland. With the summer season fast approaching, now is a good moment to have a look at how the soon-to-end winter season has gone.
The mild winter weather kept the shared transport maintenance personnel busy. The changeable weather caused problems in the bicycle brakes, which use wire cabling. With the fluctuations in temperature, moisture remained in the brake system, as a result of which bikes had to go to the depot for thawing and drying. Tampere team leader Timo Eskola notes that bicycles have been used to varying degrees, but the amount of us as we move towards spring has clearly increased. The batteries in electrically-assisted bikes withstood the winter well, whilst the concern about rapid battery discharge proved to be unfounded.
Electric scooters in use – weather permitting!
‘There were regional differences in the maintenance of electric scooters. In Helsinki, scooters remained a part of the street milieu throughout the winter, though in smaller numbers,’ Saku Salminen, team leader in the capital (Helsinki) region, relates. In Tampere and Turku, electric scooters had to be cleared away from the streets a few times, due to the wintry conditions. All in all, however, winter was a positive experience.
Spring and the coming summer
With the summer season nearing faster than we realise, there are also efforts going on to prepare for it. During the winter, ‘supporters’ were selected for each city team. ‘Supporters’ are friends and confidants who are on Rolan’s permanent staff. They enable the work to be done at a greater volume as the weather improves and the number of scooters increases.
Co-operation with VOI has also seen better development on both sides, so the summer season should proceed with maximum smoothness in all areas.
As the spring advances and the sun shines more, it’s nice to be on the move with a scooter underfoot or riding a city bicycle – while the journey is completed in a relaxing manner, enjoying the fresh outdoors.
New city bikes, a robot bus, and pilot projects for an e-bike system – these and many other great things happened during the summer of 2019. At the beginning of the summer, the citizens of Oulu voted Sykkeli as the name of the new perky pink city bicycles that will be available for at least the next 10 years.
Shorter projects, in which Rolan participated with its strong expertise, also took place during the summer. For instance, the robot bus pilot project at Kalasatama, Helsinki, lasted for six months and ended this November. Rolan’s presence in the project provided a good opportunity to develop and fine-tune the company’s competence in the operation and maintenance of automatic traffic.
The e-bike pilot project for the city of Hämeenlinna that aims at a more low-carbon urban structure is also about to end. In the project, Rolan provided the electrically-assisted bicycles, the related information system, and the user support. The pilot project also included a four-part research element. The aim of the report that was drawn up on the basis of the collected research data is to help and provide support in the launching of the city cycling-related measures.
Rolan also was the main sponsor partner in the VeloFinland event. The event provided information on the latest innovations in cycling and urban bicycle traffic. The VeloFinland event also showed a glimpse of what the future looks like from the perspective of urban and shared cycling.
The maintenance services for shared and rental cars was the company’s backbone for many years long before the shared bicycles and electric scooters entered the market. Cars still play a major role in getting people from one place to another. We here at Rolan have also noted this, and our car services have significantly developed in relation to both geographical availability and volume in 2019.
Many great projects and events took place during the summer, but luckily summer is not the only season that is suitable for biking. Rolan also maintains the city bikes in the winter, so cycling can also be enjoyed in the brisk winter weather.
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