Starting April 1, to rent a bicycle, a series of checks will be required. The company Nextbike has deemed this requirement makes the business unprofitable and has decided to remove its bicycles from the streets of the capital.
On one hand, in Latvia, especially in Riga, a healthy lifestyle and cycling as an eco-friendly alternative to car travel are constantly promoted. On the other hand, a recent decision from the parliament is forcing bike rental companies to abandon this direction as unprofitable.
This concerns a decision made by the Saeima's Economic Committee, according to which, starting from April 1, 2026, before each trip on all shared vehicles, it will be necessary to conduct identity verification, check driving licenses, and perform a reaction test. The rules apply not only to electric scooters and mopeds but also to regular mechanical bicycles.
According to Nextbike, whose classic-type bicycles were still available throughout the capital, implementing such control systems would require significant expenditure. Moreover, the checks would drastically reduce the number of customers, as very few people have a license to ride a bicycle. For example, do you know anyone who holds such a license? Among my acquaintances, there are many cyclists, but none have the credentials.
In general, Nextbike calculated everything and decided that it would be easier to remove bicycles from the streets of the capital.
Rental companies in Riga have been under pressure. The capital's authorities exhibit the same ambivalent attitude towards them as the national authorities. On one hand, the importance of cycling, especially bike rental, for improving the transport system is specifically outlined in numerous documents: "Riga's Sustainable Development Strategy," "Action Program for Sustainable Mobility of Riga's Transport System," "Riga's Mobility Vision," and others.
On the other hand, the Riga City Council adopted mandatory rules two years ago, stating that all shared vehicles (i.e., those provided for rent) must be equipped with a mechanical speed-limiting device. They also created restricted zones in the city center, limiting their spread.
So it is not surprising that the bike rental business has become quite uncomfortable.
Take Nextbike, for example - it is the largest bike rental service provider in Europe. The company believes that rental bicycles are unfairly subjected to speed limit requirements. "Such restrictions were likely introduced to control electric scooters and self-propelled bicycles," stated the company's head, Marcis Blumbergs, adding that industry representatives have repeatedly pointed out this disproportion.
The checks for their cyclist customers also seem strange to the company head: the time spent on them could already allow one to walk the route.
But Nextbike is not giving up yet. The company is a member of the Latvian Mobility Association and the Latvian Cyclists' Union and intends to work with other industry specialists to try to change the rules and find solutions for promoting sustainable mobility in Latvia.
