Bicycling is a great way to see a city – especially when there’s little or no cost. In hopes of decreasing car traffic and fuel emissions, cities around the world have introduced programs that provide tourists and residents alike with free or low-cost bikes.

While a handful of the programs in cities like Copenhagen and Helsinki use a cash-only honor system, bigger cities like Paris and Barcelona require users to purchase a Smartcard with a built-in microchip. This functions as a credit card for insurance purposes if bikes are late, unreturned or damaged. Unfortunately, acquiring Smartcards often require proof of residency, excluding tourists from utilizing the service.

But here are a few free and low-cost programs to look out for (that you can use!) when you’re planning your next trip:

Copenhagen, Denmark
Pay 20 Danish kroner (about $2.25) to get a bike, and receive a full refund upon return. There are 110 stations and 2,000 bikes around the city. The program runs from April through November. According to the Danish Statistics and Insurance Information Organization, there has been a 30 percent drop in bike theft since the Copenhagen program launched in 1995.

Helsinki, Finland
Keep your eyes peeled for bright, lime green bikes around the city. These are the official bikes of the City Bike program, launched in 2000. Deposit 10 Finnish markaa (about $1.60) to release the bike, and get a full refund when you return it to racks around the city.

Following this trend, New York launched the New York Bike Share Project (https://www.nybikeshare.org) in July, a one-week pilot program testing the trend for a potential full-blown program in the future. In Reno, the Community Bike Cooperative (https://renobikeproject.blogspot.com) provides cheap bikes and repairs, and even offers “bike valets” at certain events to promote bikes over driving.

By Dara Bramson for PeterGreenberg.com

For information on biking safety, check out “Bike Safe on Unfamiliar Terrain”.