UIT-participants are making use of the striking Swapfiets

But ultimately the idea is that the subscribers choose for the longer term. They do that mostly because of the service, says Uitentuis. “You get a bike and we make sure it always works. If you have a flat tyre, the chain falls of or the lights are broken? We will be there within 12 hours to repair it, even at your job or at the station. You don’t have to bring you bike to the bicycle repair shop ever again.”

Uitentuis and three fellow students started the company in 2015 in Delft (hence the blue tyre). First with 40 bikes they bought on Marktplaats. “We looked out the window and saw a student cycling on scrap metal. Why? As a student you are very dependant on your bike. If it’s broken, you have to walk or take the bus. And you never know exactly what bicycle repairs are going to cost you – it can be 15 euros or 50”

This weekend they are expecting their 10.000th client to sign up. It has been going really fast in the last few months especially and they are now expanding to more and more cities. To handle the demand from the various introduction weeks they needed 71 trucks filled with bikes.