Zurich city lends bikes for free through the Zurirollt program. With a small cash deposit and ID, you can use the bike around the city and environs. They rent an assortment of bikes including e-bikes, child bikes, child seats and trailers. Here’s how to borrow these free bikes in Zürich.
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Free bike rental locations
In Zürich, there are three rental locations as of 2022:
- Zürich HB – Velostation Europaplatz (main train station) – year round, daily 8:00 – 21:30
- Bahnhof Enge /Tessinerplatz – from May, open daily 10:00 – 21:20
- Pestalozziweise (near Globus) – from late April, open daily 9:00 – 21:20
How to borrow the bike
You will need to fill out a form, show your ID and leave a CHF 20 cash deposit, which you get back when you return the bike. The bikes come with a lock. You can keep the bike until closing time. Last time I used these bikes, there was an option to rent the bike for multiple days, but you needed to pay CHF 20/day.
Available bikes
They rent city bikes, road bikes, e-bikes, child bikes (24-in wheels), bikes with child seats and cargo bikes. The e-Bikes and cargo bike are not free to use, you must pay. In 2022, most e-Bikes cost CHF 30/day. At the Bahnhof Enge location, I have also see kick scooters for kids and helmets.
ZüriRollt reservation
The ZüriRollt e-Bikes can be reserved through WyBy. Standard bikes and accessories can only be reserved for groups of 5 or more, 7 days in advance: reservation@zuerirollt.ch
Other bike rental options
In Zürich city, you can rent PubliBikes, which are stationed all over the city. These bikes are charged per-minute, so more appropriate for traveling short distances around the city. To rent these bikes, you need to download their app and enter a credit card number. Then you use the app to unlock the bike. You can pick up and drop these bikes at different stations around the city.
If you don’t find what you need there, you can visit Rent-a-Bike, which has locations at most major train stations around Switzerland, including Zurich’s Hauptbahnhof. They have a wider variety of bike options (see website for details) and rental options. A couple years ago, we rented a bike with a trailer from them in Kreuzlingen and had a lovely day biking through the apple orchards along the Bodensee.
Where to bike with kids in Zurich?
If you’re borrowing the bike in the city, your best option is the path along the Sihl river starting in the Allmend-Brunau park is the best choice, with a wide, relatively flat path along the Sihl river towards Adliswil. You could ride for a couple hours or more along this path, if you were so inclined. It’s an easy trail for young kids riding their own bikes (like 5+ yrs old). It’s along the river, with lots of places to stop for picnics, etc. And if you get tired, you can just ride the train home as the tracks are right on the other side of the river.
More details in Sihl River Path post.
Bike safety
If you’ve never ridden a bike with a kid on the back, please be very, very careful! The extra weight on the back makes the bike rather unstable. I’m embarrassed to admit that while simply preparing to get on the bike today, the bike promptly fell over and my three year old crashed to the ground. I thought I could just hold the handlebars to keep the bike upright while stationary, but the back of the bike is so heavy that it pulled the bike down while I was still holding the handlebars. Fortunately he wasn’t badly hurt (just a little scrape on his arm) and he only cried for a couple minutes. But we were both a little traumatized and I was extra extra cautious for the rest of the ride. Happily, my son ended up loving the bike ride. But every time I stopped and started, he would say “please don’t crash this time, mama.”
Please don’t let this happen to you. When walking the bike or even just holding it, keep your body against the bike seat and slightly lean the back of the bike toward you. It’s not terribly difficult, it just takes a little practice. Happy biking!
