Medium Tagus wins innovation award with shared bikes

O intermunicipal system of shared electric bicycles mediumB, developed by the Intermunicipal Community (IMC) of the Middle Tagus, won the first place of the INOVA+ 2026 Prize, in the category of Urban Innovation, today announced that entity.

“ This distinction represents the recognition of the joint work of the municipalities in the construction of a more sustainable and integrated mobility network, designed on an intermunicipal scale and at the service of the needs of the populations”, said the president of CIM Médio Tejo, Manuel Jorge Valamatos, quoted in a statement.

The award, delivered on Wednesday at the Lisbon Congress Centre, distinguishes a project started in June 2024, which currently offers more than 350 electric bicycles in more than 60 stations distributed by 11 municipalities.

According to CIM Médio Tejo, based in Tomar, the network has already exceeded 290 thousand kilometres and is in a new phase of expansion, supported by Community funds from the Centro 2020 and Centro 2030 programmes.

The mediumB works through a network of parking and loading stations for bicycles, allowing users to travel within localities and between municipalities, with access through a mobile application.

The stations were installed with public equipment, educational establishments, commercial areas, transport services and interfaces, seeking to facilitate daily travel, particularly between home, work and school.

The system covers Alcanena, Constância, Entroncamento, Ferreira do Zêzere, Mação, Ourém, Sertã, Tomar, Torres Novas, Vila de Rei and Vila Nova da Barquinha, and its extension to the municipality of Sardoal.

In the first phase, launched on 27 June 2024, the project represented an investment of around EUR 1.5 million, with 85% of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and initially made available 252 electric bicycles.

CIM’s 2025 management report Medium Tagus points to a monthly average of 5.066 trips and refers to the approval of a second phase of expansion, which provides for the installation of 37 new stations and the acquisition of more than a hundred bicycles.

The note now released by the inter-municipal community indicates that this phase includes about 35 new stations and 100 additional bicycles, aimed at strengthening the territorial coverage and response capacity of the service.

The mediumB has occasional, monthly and annual usage modalities, and a registration through the mobile application is required. The first 60 minutes of each trip have no additional cost to the chosen plan, being charged a cent per minute after that period.

The initiative integrates the inter-municipal strategy of sustainable mobility, which seeks to reduce dependence on motorised individual transport and facilitate the articulation between different means of transport.

For Manuel Jorge Valamatos, the award is also “an incentive to continue betting on innovative solutions that improve the quality of life in the territory”.

The INOVA+ Award, promoted by the consultant with the same name, received 73 applications this year, distributed by the categories of Scientific Innovation, Business Innovation and Urban Innovation, and nine projects were distinguished.

Middle B won first place in the local administration category, receiving a €3,000 prize and specialized support to prepare an application for national or European funding.