Madrid’s bike-share does not get gradually dearer. The first 30 minutes cost €0.50 and the next 30 minutes another €0.50, and then, past 60 minutes, every half hour costs €3.00. A 90-minute ride comes to €4.00 while an hour comes to €1.00. With 7,500 bicycles at 611 stations across the 21 districts, the pricing exists to make you dock the bike rather than keep it.
How much does BiciMAD cost in Madrid? Pay-as-you-go charges €0.50 for the first half hour and €0.50 for the second. From 60 minutes onward each half hour costs €3.00. The flat rate is €10.00 a month, makes rides up to 30 minutes free, has no minimum term and can be cancelled at no cost.
BiciMAD is Madrid’s municipal electric bike-share, run by EMT Madrid under two charging models on one fleet, a pay-as-you-go contract and a monthly flat rate. Both apply the same penalty to long rides, so the choice changes what short trips cost rather than what long ones do.
Docking restarts the clock, and that is the whole trick
The point of the pricing is rotation, and understanding it changes how an afternoon gets planned.
Returning the bike to a station ends the ride and resets the meter. With 611 stations across the city, two rides of 25 minutes cost €1.00 on pay-as-you-go and nothing at all on the flat rate, while one continuous ride of 80 minutes costs €4.00 on either. A shared bike is not meant to sit outside a museum waiting for you.
The three tiers, and the cliff at 60 minutes
Read the tariff as three steps, because the third one behaves nothing like the first two.
| Ride length | Pay-as-you-go | Flat rate |
|---|---|---|
| Every half hour past 60 minutes | €3.00 | €3.00 |
| 30 to 60 minutes | €0.50 more | €0.50 |
| Up to 30 minutes | €0.50 | Free |
Where the flat rate breaks even
The sum is short, and it depends on how often you unlock a bike rather than how far you ride it.
The flat rate costs €10.00 a month and makes rides of up to 30 minutes free. Those same rides cost €0.50 each on pay-as-you-go, so 20 rides a month is the exact break-even. It renews itself, has no minimum term and can be cancelled free of charge, which makes it worth holding for one intensive month alone.
How it compares with a metro fare
Bike-share wins on short central hops and loses the moment distance enters, because the metro charges by journey rather than by minute.
A metro single is €1.50 to €2.00 and an EMT bus fare €1.50, set out in what a Madrid metro ticket costs and Madrid public transport tickets explained. A twenty-minute ride across the centre costs €0.50 on a bike and wins comfortably; crossing the city does not. BiciMAD also sits on its own contract rather than on the transport card described in the Madrid transport card explained.
Where the bikes stop
The scheme is municipal, so its boundary is the city limit rather than the transport zone map.
Leaving Madrid means changing system and operator, covered in how Madrid’s transport zones work. Inside the city, a weather alert can close a park you meant to ride through, explained in why Madrid shuts its parks, and driving instead brings its own limits, set out in Madrid street parking rules.
Frequently asked questions about BiciMAD prices
Can a visitor use BiciMAD without a Spanish bank account?
The service runs on its own contract and app rather than on the city transport card, so it is separate from any ticket you buy for the metro. Sign-up is per user, which means each rider in a group needs their own account.
How much does a BiciMAD ride cost?
The pay-as-you-go contract charges €0.50 for the first 30 minutes or part of it, and €0.50 again for the second. Beyond 60 minutes every half hour costs €3.00, so an 80-minute ride costs €4.00 rather than €1.50.
Is the BiciMAD monthly flat rate worth it?
It costs €10.00 a month and makes every ride of up to 30 minutes free, so it breaks even against pay-as-you-go at 20 rides a month. Below that, paying per ride is cheaper; above it, the flat rate wins.
Does the BiciMAD flat rate tie you in?
No. It renews automatically but carries no minimum term, and cancelling costs nothing. That makes it practical to hold for a single busy month and drop it afterwards rather than paying through a quiet season.
How many BiciMAD stations are there?
The system runs 7,500 bicycles across 611 stations spread over the city’s 21 districts, with more than 330,000 subscribers. That density is what makes it realistic to dock and restart before the expensive tier begins.
The entire tariff fits in one instruction, which is to dock the bike before minute sixty.