Palma on two wheels

THE new Bicipalma municipal bicycle renting service is proving to be a resounding success with more than 6,300 users in the first two months.

Up to 930 new bikes, both electric and mechanical, are available for users at 51 points throughout Palma, with plans to gradually extend the service to 20 new neighbourhoods over the next few months.

The new, improved Bicipal­ ma was inaugurated in January and also features new parking facilities and easier booking access via a mobile phone app.

In order to use the service, users must be inscribed on the municipal padron town census and fill in an application at www.bicipalma.com

Applicants then receive an email with a PIN to activate the service via the Bicipalma app, which grants permission to start renting the bikes.

For further information on how the system works and prices, visit the aforementioned website (available in English).

PALMA T own Hall will launch a series of discounts for shops around the city at the end of March to give residents and local businesses a helping hand during these tough economic times.

The PalmaActiva campaign will offer shoppers vouchers of €10 for every €16 spent in local shops, with a maximum of nine vouchers per person and three for each store.

Up to 100,000 discount tickets for a total value of €1 million are expected to be given out over the six weeks of the campaign, with 400 businesses predicted to take part.

This is the fourth edition of the scheme, timed to coincide with what is usually a low point for commerce. The idea to limit the number of vouchers to three per establishment is to prevent queues outside certain stores - as occurred last year - and to share the benefits among more businesses.

In order to obtain the discount vouchers, shoppers only have to show their ID at the till when paying for their products.