De Fietsambassade Gent
De Fietsambassade Gent is a non-profit, City of Ghent-affiliated cycling agency offering bike rental, repair, lessons, parking management, bike taxi, and adaptive cycling services to residents, students from six partner higher-education institutions, and people with reduced mobility across Ghent.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersGent, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What De Fietsambassade Gent does
De Fietsambassade Gent (legal entity De Fietsambassade Gent vzw, VAT BE 0665 587 076) is a Belgian non-profit organization and Externally Autonomous Agency (EVA) of the City of Ghent, founded in 2017 through the merger of vzw Student En Mobiliteit, vzw Max Mobiel's bike-depot activities, and the Fietsendepot of the Mobiliteitsbedrijf. It was co-founded by five Ghent higher-education institutions (Universiteit Gent, Arteveldehogeschool, HoGent, Odisee, and LUCA School of Arts; KU Leuven subsequently joined the student program) and operates exclusively within Ghent with a team of nearly 100 paid staff supplemented by approximately 97 volunteers across lessons and bike-taxi operations.
The organization's core offering is a network of four Fietspunten (bike service points at Onder De Krook, Gent-Sint-Pieters station, Gent-Dampoort station, and Kattenberg for students) providing bicycle rental, repair, and DIY maintenance, complemented by the Fietsendepot (bike depot for reclaimed, second-hand, and donated bicycles), the Fietsschool (cycling school for adults and children), TriVelo (bike-taxi for reduced-mobility users), adaptive-bike rentals (rickshaws, tricycles, tandems, parent-child bikes, wheelchairs), and citywide public bike-parking management. Supporting infrastructure includes a dedicated student webshop, a general webshop (webshop.defietsambassade.gent), a YouTube repair-tutorials series, and a recuperatie/recovery workshop that reuses parts from abandoned bikes (600 wrecks deposited in 2024, 4,000 parts reused). Technology integrations are limited to MyBike (registration/marking) and the Cyclofix OpenStreetMap layer, with IT services provided by partner District09.
Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of transactional and subscription pricing: bike rentals range from €6.6/month (student) to €990/year (electric city bike) across daily, weekly, monthly, and annual cadences; cycling lessons are priced at €15-25 per pack with UITPAS kansentarief discounts; second-hand bikes and recovered parts are sold via the Fietsendepot; and bicycle parking is managed under contract with the City of Ghent. The organization explicitly functions as a social-employment vehicle (training job seekers through cycling professions) and serves transport-poor and accessibility-disadvantaged populations through TriVelo and adaptive-bike services, blending commercial fee-for-service with public-service mandate execution.
De Fietsambassade Gent firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- De Fietsambassade Gent
- Legal name
- De Fietsambassade Gent vzw
- Website
- https://fietsambassade.gent.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- De Fietsambassade Gent is a non-profit, City of Ghent-affiliated cycling agency offering bike rental, repair, lessons, parking management, bike taxi, and adaptive cycling services to residents, students from six partner higher-education institutions, and people with reduced mobility across Ghent.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
De Fietsambassade Gent industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Cycling Services
- NAICS
- Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (8114), Recreational Goods Rental (532284)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bicycle Programs & Bike Share (Parking, Repair, Rentals) (EDALAKAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Bike Service, Repair & Maintenance Shops (CRAMAHAH), Bike Rental, Demo & Tour Operators (Retail-Adjacent) (CRAMAHAJ), E-Bike Rentals (THADAGAE)
Keywords
Where De Fietsambassade Gent is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gent
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
De Fietsambassade Gent business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Bike Rental: Various types of bicycles rented at daily, weekly, monthly, and annual rates. Includes city bikes, electric bikes, cargo bikes, longtail bikes, and special needs bicycles.
- Bike Repair Services: Repair and maintenance services at Fietspunten for rented and owned bicycles
- Second-hand Bike Sales: Sale of refurbished second-hand bicycles and recycled bicycle parts from the recup-atelier
- Cycling Lessons: Paid cycling lessons for adults and children, with reduced rates for UITPAS holders with kansentarief
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Student Bike Rental - monthly subscription from €6.6/month |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | City Bike - €16/day, €36/week, €55/month, €250/year |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Electric City Bike - €29/day, €80/week, €140/month, €990/year |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Cargo Bike - €30/day, €160/week |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Electric Cargo Bike - €38/day, €110/week, €320/month |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Longtail Bike - €26/day, €76/week, €150/month |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Cycling Lessons Level 1 - €25 for 10 lessons |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Cycling Lessons Level 2 - €15 for 5 lessons |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Additional Costs |
| Usage-based | Monthly | Theft Coverage - optional add-on |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels9 records
De Fietsambassade Gent product offering
Product offeringCore offering
De Fietsambassade Gent delivers an integrated suite of cycling services in the City of Ghent, including bicycle rental (city, electric, cargo, longtail, and adaptive bikes), professional bike repair and maintenance, cycling lessons for children and adults via the Fietsschool, the TriVelo bike-taxi service for less-mobile persons, and management of all public bike parking facilities in Ghent. It also runs the Fietsendepot for reclaiming abandoned bicycles, selling refurbished second-hand bikes and salvaged parts, and processing donated bikes through a circular-economy recovery workshop. Customers can access rentals and purchases through a public webshop and a dedicated student webshop, while repairs and lessons are provided in person at Fietspunten, the Fietsschool, and the Fietsendepot.
Product overview
De Fietsambassade Gent is a non-profit organization (vzw) and externally autonomous agency (EVA) of the City of Ghent that promotes cycling culture through a comprehensive suite of interconnected services. The core offering is a network of Fietspunten (bike service points) providing bicycle rental and repair across multiple Ghent locations (Onder De Krook, Gent-Sint-Pieters, Gent-Dampoort, and Kattenberg for students). Supporting this are the Fietsendepot (bike depot for reclaimed, second-hand, and donated bicycles), the Fietsschool (cycling school with lessons for adults and children), TriVelo (bike taxi for reduced-mobility passengers), and adaptive bicycle rentals (rickshaws, tricycles, tandems, wheelchairs). Additional services include bike parking management across Ghent, curated cycling routes, a recovery/recycling workshop for circular bicycle parts reuse, and a cycling coach program. The student-specific offering is distributed through a dedicated student webshop (webshop-student.defietsambassade.gent), while the general rental shop runs on webshop.defietsambassade.gent.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TriVelo: Bicycle taxi service for less mobile persons in Ghent
- Fietsschool Gent
- Fietsendepot
- Fietspunten
- Buggy & Wheelchair Service
Products and services
- Fietspunten Bike Service Point Network Network of physical bike service points across Ghent offering bicycle rental (city, electric, cargo, longtail), bike repair, and DIY tire-inflation services. Locations include Fietspunt Onder De Krook, Fietspunt Gent-Sint-Pieters, Fietspunt Gent-Dampoort, and Fietspunt Kattenberg (students only).
- Student Bike Rental (Studentenfiets) Monthly-subscription bicycle rental for students of six partner higher-education institutions in Ghent (Universiteit Gent, Hogeschool Gent, Arteveldehogeschool, Odisee, KU Leuven, LUCA School of Arts), with city bikes and electric bikes available from €6.6/month. Pickup and return at Fietspunt Kattenberg.
- Fietsendepot (Bike Depot) Central depot where abandoned, removed, or donated bicycles are received; owners can reclaim lost bikes, and the public can buy refurbished second-hand bicycles and recycled parts.
- Fietsschool (Cycling School) Lessons Structured cycling lessons for adults and children at two levels: Level 1 (learning to ride from scratch, €25 for 10 lessons) and Level 2 (city-traffic skills, €15 for 5 lessons). Subsidized rates available for UITPAS kansentarief holders. Lessons include bike, helmet, and insurance.
- TriVelo Bike Taxi Door-to-door bicycle-taxi service for people with reduced mobility in Ghent, using rickshaws and wheelchair bikes operated by paid staff and volunteer riders.
- Adaptive and Special-Needs Bicycles Rental Rental of adapted bicycles for people with disabilities or special needs, including rickshaws, electric tricycles, tandems, parent-child bikes, and wheelchair loans.
- Public Bike Parking Management Installation and management of all public bike garages and bike parking facilities across the City of Ghent, including collection and processing of abandoned bikes and bike wrecks.
- Recuperatie Atelier (Circular Bike-Parts Recovery Workshop) Workshop that disassembles abandoned and donated bicycles to recover reusable parts for repairs, refurbished second-hand bike builds, and resale of recovered parts to Ghent bike repair shops.
- Free Buggy and Wheelchair Loan Free loan of buggies and wheelchairs at Fietspunt Onder De Krook, intended for shopping or sightseeing in the Ghent city center, with children seated at eye level with adults in the buggies.
- Fietscoach (Cycling Coach) Advisory Service Personalized coaching for beginners, children, elderly, and people with special needs, covering cycling lessons, buy-versus-rent decisions, adaptive-cycling options, and safe cycling routes in Ghent.
- General Bike Rental Webshop Online webshop for the general public to reserve and pay for bike rentals (city, electric, cargo, longtail) and to purchase second-hand bicycles and parts from the Fietsendepot.
Quantifiable outcome
- 8,200+ fietstaxi trips enabling mobility for less mobile persons annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use De Fietsambassade Gent
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
De Fietsambassade Gent technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
De Fietsambassade Gent partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.
- Universiteit GentcoreMajor educational institution co-founder of De Fietsambassade Gent vzw. Partner for student bike rental program.
- Artevelde HogeschoolcoreUniversity of Applied Sciences co-founder of De Fietsambassade Gent vzw. Partner for student bike rental program.
- LUCA School of ArtscoreArts university co-founder of De Fietsambassade Gent vzw. Partner for student bike rental program.
- OdiseecoreUniversity college co-founder of De Fietsambassade Gent vzw. Partner for student bike rental program.
- HoGent (Hogeschool Gent)coreUniversity of Applied Sciences co-founder of De Fietsambassade Gent vzw. Partner for student bike rental program.
- Stad GentcoreCity of Ghent is the parent municipality. De Fietsambassade is an EVA (externally autonomous agency) of the city.
- District09supportingIT services partner providing digital infrastructure. Listed as 'In cooperation with District09' on website.
- Mo-CyclettesupportingPartnership to upcycle decommissioned bikes into circular rental bikes. First 200 circular bikes available for rental through this collaboration.
- vzw Max MobielminorPredecessor organization that merged in 2017 to form De Fietsambassade Gent. Still exists for other activities.
- vzw Student en MobiliteitminorPredecessor organization that merged in 2017 to form De Fietsambassade Gent.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
De Fietsambassade Gent competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pro Velo: Belgian non-profit organization offering cycling services including bike rental, repair, training, and corporate mobility programs across multiple Belgian cities. Highly comparable in mission, multi-service model, and not-for-profit structure to De Fietsambassade.
- Swapfiets: European bike subscription service with monthly memberships and on-demand repairs. Comparable on subscription rental model, university student target segment, and maintenance-included value proposition.
- Donkey Republic: European bike-share and rental subscription operator present in 70+ cities. Directly comparable on rental/subscription business model, urban student demographic, and per-ride/per-month pricing structure.
- Nextbike: One of Europe's largest bike-share operators with public-private partnership models in numerous cities. Comparable on station-based bike rental, public-sector contracts, and integration with public transport hubs.
Broad incumbents
- Lime: Global micromobility operator with e-bikes and e-scooters across European cities. Comparable on shared urban mobility and e-bike rental, but at much larger scale and with venture-funded rather than municipal structure.
- Cambio: Belgian shared-mobility operator with carsharing across Belgian cities, founded as a cooperative. Comparable on Belgian shared-mobility mission, urban substitution-for-private-car use case, and member-/subscription-based access model.
- Cyclocity (JCDecaux): Operates city bike-share systems globally under advertising-funded public-private contracts (e.g., Lyon, Brussels). Comparable on docked station-based bike rental operated under municipal mandate, but at a much larger international scale.
Regional players
- Blue-bike: Belgian railway-station-based bike-share system operated by NMBS/SNCB across Belgium. Comparable on Belgian bike-share context, station-adjacent pick-up locations, and short-trip rental use case (though commercial rather than municipal non-profit).
- Velo Antwerpen: Public bike-share system in Antwerp operated under contract by city authorities. Comparable as a Flemish municipal bike-share with station-based rental and pricing structure paralleling De Fietsambassade's rental tier.
Others
- Decathlon: Major sporting goods retailer in Belgium selling bikes, parts, and repair services. Adjacent comparable as a competitor for repair services, second-hand bikes, and bike accessories, but operates a pure retail model rather than rental/lessons/parking management.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
De Fietsambassade Gent social profiles
Digital presenceDe Fietsambassade Gent compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
De Fietsambassade Gent financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
De Fietsambassade Gent leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
De Fietsambassade Gent funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
De Fietsambassade Gent M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about De Fietsambassade Gent
What does De Fietsambassade Gent do?
De Fietsambassade Gent delivers an integrated suite of cycling services in the City of Ghent, including bicycle rental (city, electric, cargo, longtail, and adaptive bikes), professional bike repair and maintenance, cycling lessons for children and adults via the Fietsschool, the TriVelo bike-taxi service for less-mobile persons, and management of all public bike parking facilities in Ghent. It also runs the Fietsendepot for reclaiming abandoned bicycles, selling refurbished second-hand bikes and salvaged parts, and processing donated bikes through a circular-economy recovery workshop. Customers can access rentals and purchases through a public webshop and a dedicated student webshop, while repairs and lessons are provided in person at Fietspunten, the Fietsschool, and the Fietsendepot.
Is De Fietsambassade Gent a public or private company?
De Fietsambassade Gent is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was De Fietsambassade Gent founded?
De Fietsambassade Gent was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is De Fietsambassade Gent based?
De Fietsambassade Gent is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does De Fietsambassade Gent make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Bike Rental is the primary driver. The others are bike Repair Services, second-hand Bike Sales and cycling Lessons.
Who are De Fietsambassade Gent's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pro Velo, Swapfiets, Donkey Republic and Nextbike. Broad incumbents are Lime, Cambio and Cyclocity (JCDecaux). Regional players are Blue-bike and Velo Antwerpen. Decathlon is listed as an others.
Does De Fietsambassade Gent have an API?
No public API is recorded for De Fietsambassade Gent.
What industry is De Fietsambassade Gent in?
De Fietsambassade Gent's product category is Urban Cycling Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDALAKAE, Bicycle Programs & Bike Share (Parking, Repair, Rentals), with a secondary code of CRAMAHAH, Bike Service, Repair & Maintenance Shops. Its NAICS code is 8114.