Vélib'

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Vélib’ (French: vélo libre or vélo liberté, English: free bicycle or bicycle freedom) is a public bicycle rental programme in Paris, France. The initiative was pushed by Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë from the French Socialist Party. The system was launched on 15 July 2007, following Lyon's Vélo'v success. Ten thousand bicycles were introduced to the city with 750 automated rental stations each with fifteen or more bikes/spaces. This number has since grown to 20,000 bicycles and 1,450 stations, roughly one station every 300 metres throughout the city centre, making Vélib’ the largest system of its kind in the world.

Contents 1 System 1.1 Rates 1.2 Financing 2 Problems 3 Autolib': electric cars 4 Other similar systems 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

[edit] System

Each Vélib’ service point/station is equipped with an automatic rental terminal and stands for dozens of bicycles. Maps showing the station locations are available at all kiosks.

The robust grey bicycles were produced by the French bicycle company Mercier, in Hungary and are repaired by JCDecaux.^[1] The price per bicycle has been variously stated as US$1,300 (if provided by JCDecaux)^[2], €300^[3], or US$3,460^[4] apiece. They are three-speed bicycles, each weighing 22.5 kilograms, have always-on LED lighting powered by a fronthub dynamo, a locking system and a front bicycle basket.

If a user arrives with a rented bicycle at a station without open spots, the terminal grants another fifteen minutes of free rental time. The rental terminals also display information about neighbouring Vélib’ stations, including location, number of available bicycles and open stands. A fleet of twenty bicycle-transporting vehicles are used over night to redistribute bicycles to high-demand stations in time for the next morning.

[edit] Rates

In order to use the system, users need to take out a subscription, which allows the subscriber an unlimited number of rentals. Subscriptions can be purchased at €1 per day, €5/week or €29/year. With a subscription bike rental is free for the first half hour of every individual trip; an unlimited number of such free trips can be made per day. A trip that lasts longer than 30 minutes incurs a charge of one to four euros for each subsequent 30-minute period. The increasing price scale is intended to keep the bikes in circulation.

A credit card or Maestro debit card with PIN is required to sign up for the programme and to rent the bikes. The credit/debit card will be charged €150 if a rented bike is not returned. The credit card is required to contain an EMV-chip in most cases^[5] (this includes all French cards, most European cards, but as of June 2008^[update], few USA credit cards). The sign-up can then be attached to a Navigo pass or a one year card^{[clarification needed]}, which allows direct use of the card readers at bikes' attach points; alternatively a numerical identification code can be used at the pay station.

Rate examples:

time	30 min	1 h	1 h 30	2 h	5 h	10 h	20 h
rate	free	1 €	3 €	7 €	31 €	71 €	151 €

[edit] Financing

The system is financed by the JCDecaux advertising corporation, in return for the city of Paris signing over the income from a substantial portion of the on-street advertising hoardings. JCDecaux won the contract over a rival bid from Clear Channel.^{[4][clarification needed]}

JCDecaux paid start-up costs of about $115 million and employs the equivalent of about 285 people full-time to operate the system and repair the bikes for 10 years. The city receives all revenue from the programme as well as a fee of about US$4.3 million a year. In return JCDecaux receives exclusive control over 1,628 city-owned hoardings; the city receives about half of that advertising space at no charge for public-interest advertising.^[2] (Slightly different numbers were reported in July 2008.)^[4] This model was first used in France in 1998 by Adshel (now part of Clear Channel) in Rennes.

[edit] Problems

In the first year three people died in accidents on rented bikes; some car drivers complain that riders do not follow all traffic rules.^[4]

Occasionally, people used to chain a bicycle to its station so that it will remain available for a subsequent trip; the Vélib' employees cut the locks in these cases.^[6]

At least 3,000 bicycles have been stolen in the first year of operation, many more than had been initially estimated.^[4]

Some have been stolen and taken to Eastern Europe and Africa. Others have been vandalized, thrown in the river, and Youtube videos made of the bicycles being vandalized. ^[7]

Some of the Velibs parked at the stations and available for hire may have mechanical problems. To indicate when there is a problem with the bike it has become common to rotate the seat through 180 degrees so that it is pointing backwards. This practice avoids wasting time picking up faulty bicycles and shows the staff which bikes require attention.

[edit] Autolib': electric cars

On a similar basis to the Velib' scheme, Paris plans to offer around 4,000 small electric cars for the general public's use, to be stationed at 700 locations.^[8] Potential suppliers of the car include the Dassault Group and Bolloré.^[8] The former's Cleanova model shares its body design with the Renault Kangoo van, while the Bolloré Blue Car is the result of a collaboration with Pininfarina.^[8] The scheme is planned to come into operation at the end of 2009.^[9]

There are also plans to integrate payment for the bike and car hire schemes with the ticketing systems for traditional modes of public transport.^[9]

[edit] Other similar systems

Prior to Vélib’ a medium-scale bike hire operation — Roue Libre — operated in Paris, co-ordinated with RATP (which runs buses and Metro services in Paris). Its continued operation may be in question with the ten-fold increase in hire-bike numbers and massive improvement in hire-bike accessibility.

Other such schemes are operational in other cities, using different models. In Copenhagen, a non-profit foundation has operated a free open access bike scheme seasonally since 1995 and six German cities are served by Call a Bike which is run by Deutsche Bahn. In Luxembourg JCDecaux is operating bicycles called Vel'oh, the bicycles and payment system are based on Vélib’, but with some design differences. Perhaps one of the original electronically managed systems was Bikeabout^[10] (1996) at Portsmouth University, from which many lessons were learned.

All avoid the downfall of free city bike schemes - the most famous of which was the 1960s White Bicycles scheme of Amsterdam - by making users liable for a big fine if bikes are not returned or kept on hire. Hence the free 30 minute period to encourage bikes to circulate, and exponential increases in hire rates for longer periods, very much like City Car Clubs. Most schemes use heavy bikes designed for very low maintenance and some like the CIOS-designed bikes in Copenhagen are rebuilt annually (some Copenhagen bikes are twelve years old). The bikes are by their unique design less attractive to thieves than normal bikes.^{[citation needed]}

London mayor Boris Johnson, himself a keen cyclist, is due to introduce a similar system in London in May 2010.^[9] He is also looking at the Autolib' idea and has set up a corresponding working group.^[9]

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vélib'

• Short term hire schemes

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• John Ward Anderson (2007-03-24). "Paris Embraces Plan to Become City of Bikes". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301753.html. 
• Kate Betts (2007-10-05). "Paris's Bicycle Days". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1665795_1665797_1667075,00.html. 
• Angela Doland (2007-07-13). "Paris on two wheels". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/travel/am-bike0713,0,491563.story. 
• Agnès Poirier (2007-08-02). "Vive la velorution". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2139594,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=travel. 
• Steven Erlanger (2008-07-13). "A New Fashion Catches On in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/europe/13paris.html. 

[edit] External links

• Vélib’ website (French) Other languages available through a drop-down list at the top-right corner of the home page
• Press dossier on Vélib’
• Vélib’ blog
• World City Bike Implementation Forum
• Move over Velib, Autolib is on its way