Maribor - Slovenia's second largest city of Maribor will finally get a bicycle sharing system in spring. Twenty automated docking stations with 200 bicycles are planned in the first phase, with more to be added later.

The project is a new step towards changing mobility patterns in the city. "If we are opening the city to pedestrians, they have to be given car-free access," Mayor Saša Arsenovič told the press on Thursday.

The scheme will be identical to the one in the capital Ljubljana and the bikes will be the same as well. The entire system will be run by the advertising company Europlakat, which has operated the Ljubljana system since 2011.

A one-year subscription will be three euro, which will count towards riding credit, and the first hour of rental will be free. In Ljubljana, most rides are under an hour, according to Europlakat representative Boštjan Berčan.

Under the 15-year concession agreement signed today, Europlakat will operate the system in exchange for advertising space in the city. The city will take care of the electric connections and construction works and Europlakat will additionally build 50 new bus stop shelters.

The city also wants to expand the existing transit card into a fully-fledged city card that can be used for the payment of a variety of services, bike rental included.