The system, operated by an advertising agency, which allows the use of bikes for only EUR 3 a year, has recorded some 2,687,000 borrowings since its launch. Around EUR 750,000 borrowings were recorded in 2014 alone.

The 360 Bicikelj bikes are available at 36 locations around Ljubljana year-round. According to Marko Kolbl, the boss of system operator Europlakat, Bicikelj has some 65,000 users, while 30,000 people use the bikes on a daily basis.

Each bike is used six to seven times daily, according to Kolbl. The peak popularity periods for Bicikelj are between April and June and in autumn between September and November.

Europlakat intends to expand the system by increasing the number of borrowing stations by 13.

A single bike costs EUR 1,860 annually, according to Kolbl, who added that the bike-share system generated EUR 140,000 in loss in 2013 but it broke even a year later.

"This also depends on the advertising market, which is going down at the moment. 99% of the Bicikelj rides are free of charge, so we do not make any money from the borrowing," said the head of the advertising company.