More bike stations and breakdown assistance for cyclists

There are more and more services for cyclists in Saxony in the event of a breakdown. According to the ADAC, seven new bike service stations are being set up in the Leipzig area this year. They are equipped with tools and an air pump so that cyclists can carry out minor repairs themselves. The symbolic opening is planned for Tuesday at a station on Lake Schladitz.

The ADAC has also been offering bicycle breakdown assistance since June 2022. The automobile club explained that more and more members are switching to bicycles. It is responding to the rapid changes in mobility. In 2023, the ADAC was called out to 15,680 bicycle breakdowns across Germany, said spokesman Florian Wagner. "For the ADAC, breakdown assistance for bicycles is a great success, as the service is becoming increasingly popular."

The ADFC bicycle club has also been providing breakdown assistance since 2016. It was used more than 1,600 times by club members last year. "The fact that the number of bicycle breakdown services is increasing is of course a good sign, because it also suggests that more people are cycling," explained Saxony's ADFC regional managing director Konrad Krause.

The offers of the automobile club are of course still competition for the bicycle club. Krause pointed out that the ADFC focuses entirely on the interests of cyclists. "We mend tires and fight for safe cycle paths at the same time," he said.

The automobile club had already set up ten of its bike service stations in Saxony last year, including on the Elbe cycle path. This costs just under 3,000 euros per station, explained spokesman Wagner. Problems with vandalism were initially limited, but have recently increased. "At some stations around Leipzig, we have complained about stolen tools shortly after installation." Planning is currently underway to determine whether the service should be extended further in 2025.