The bicycle rental service in Vélez-Málaga began in April 2011 but was suspended just three months later after the Council failed to provide budget provision for replacement parts in case of damage or deterioration.
Prior to this summer, the Council planned to revive the project and put the operation of the bicycle rental system out to tender to a private company.
However, at the last moment, the Council apparently realised that they themselves do no actually own the 98 bicycles (there were 100, but two were stolen), they are the property of the Junta de Andalucia.
This means that no contract award can be made until the Ministry of Economics, Innovation and Science transfers ownership to the municipal Council, according to the Councillor for Environment and Mobilty, Francisco Natera.
This, presumably, is an extraordinarily complex task. Meanwhile, the bicycles, all damaged to some degree, will remain in storage and continue to deteriorate until the matter is resolved, or the machines bio-degrade, whichever happens first. The betting is on bio-degrade.