Finland’s Helsinki city bike system recorded a bizarre rental this autumn, with one bicycle remaining in continuous use for over 3,100 hours across four months while traveling barely 300 kilometers. The discovery of the snow-covered Alepa-bike in the Puotila district has raised questions about the vulnerabilities in a public transport system built on trust.
The Discovery in the Snow
Patrick Wikblad found the city bike buried in snow on Rustholarinne street in Puotila last Sunday, long after the official biking season ended in late October. The bike’s display screen still had power, revealing its extraordinary log. Data showed the bike had been in uninterrupted use for 3,118 hours and 6 minutes, a period spanning from early September. During that entire four-month rental, the bicycle had traveled only 315.9 kilometers, indicating it was moved very infrequently and spent most of its time stationary.
How the System Is Supposed to Work
The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) operates the city bike service as part of its sustainable mobility offerings. The standard pricing model is designed for short trips. Users can rent a bike for one hour at no extra charge beyond their season pass. After that first hour, an additional fee of one euro is charged every 30 minutes, up to five hours. A major penalty fee of 80 euros is applied for any usage exceeding five hours in a single rental period. For a bike that is never returned and not reported stolen, HSL charges a 400-euro lost property fee.
A Rare System Failure
HSL's sustainable mobility expert, Samuli Mäkinen, acknowledged the case is highly unusual. He stated that the person who rented the bike would have incurred significant additional fees under the standard pricing structure. Mäkinen explained the protocol for lost bikes, noting the 400-euro charge is waived only if the customer reports the bike stolen and files a police report. He urged the public to report abandoned bikes through HSL’s feedback system or the city bike customer service, a crucial step for recovering assets and preventing such long-term, costly rentals from going unnoticed.
The Mechanics of a Four-Month Rental
This incident exposes a potential flaw in a system reliant on user compliance. For a bike to remain in an active rental for 3,118 hours, it suggests the bike was never properly docked at a station to end the rental session. The extremely low mileage indicates it was likely parked in a secluded location, like a private yard or basement, shortly after the rental began in September. The system's automated fees, which would have escalated daily, apparently did not deter the renter or trigger a more forceful recovery intervention from HSL during the four-month period.
The Financial and Operational Impact
While HSL has not disclosed the exact total fee accrued, based on its public pricing model, the costs would be substantial. The 80-euro over-five-hour fee would have been applied repeatedly. This represents a direct financial loss to HSL, both in terms of uncollected revenue and the prolonged removal of a public asset from its active fleet. Operationally, it highlights a monitoring gap where a single bike can disappear from circulation for an entire season without immediate recovery action, affecting overall fleet availability and reliability.
Trust-Based Systems Under Scrutiny
The Helsinki city bike scheme, like many shared public mobility services in Finland, operates on a foundation of societal trust. This case tests the limits of that model. It contrasts sharply with the system's intended use for short, point-to-point urban journeys. The incident prompts an examination of whether additional safeguards, such as more aggressive geo-fencing alerts for stationary bikes or capped maximum rental durations, are needed to protect public resources without undermining the service's convenience for the vast majority of honest users.
A Call for User Responsibility
HSL's response emphasizes user responsibility. Mäkinen’s instructions make clear that the onus is on customers to correctly end rentals and report issues. The 400-euro lost bike fee is a significant deterrent, but this case shows it is not always effective. The incident serves as a stark reminder to all users that the shared system’s affordability and functionality depend on correct usage. Properly docking a bike is not just a courtesy, it is a necessary action to close the rental contract and make the bike available for the next person.