This isn’t a new concept but I find the service to be really innovative. I am currently doing a little vacationing in France and I have been seeing many “Velib” bicycles here in Paris. Basically bikes you can easily rent anywhere and anytime [no service people - I think they appreciate vending machines as much as Tito 
]. 
The stations are located throughout the city and you can easily pick up and drop them off at any station. I had seen something similar in Vienna but I wasn’t sure how they worked, but it seems the same idea has come to Paris. At first I figured it was something for tourists, but after speaking with some Parisians I realized it is really for the locals. It is a nice environmentally friendly and healthy alternative to driving, buses or the subway.
Here is some quick info from the Velib website:
On July 15, 2007, the city of Paris will debut a new self-service “bicycle transit system” called Velib’. Parisians and visitors alike will be able to pick up and drop off bicycles throughout the city at 750 locations—offering a total of 10,648 bikes. By the end of the year, there will be a Velib’ station approximately every 900 feet for a total of 1,451 locations and 20,600 bikes.
To access the bikes, riders can select a one-day card for 1 euro, a weekly card for 5 euros or an annual card for 29 euros. After the purchase of an access card, riding for the first half-hour is free and a supplement of 1 euro will be charged for an additional half-hour, 2 euros for another 30-minutes and 4 euros for every addition half-hour after that. Example: a 25 minute trip = 0 euros, a 50 minute trip = 1 euro, an hour and 15-minute ride = 3 euros.
Each Velib’ parking station will be equipped with muni-meters to purchase one and 7-day passes and to pay any additional charges once the bike is dropped off. The Velib’ meters will also provide information on other station locations.
Application forms for the annual card will be available starting June 13 at Paris District City Halls, 300 métro stations and 400 pastry shops throughout the city.
The city of Paris has over 371 km (230 miles) of cycling lanes.
The LA times wrote an article on it about a week ago.
The concept of sharing goods, for a certain amount of time isn’t new. For example ZipCar in the United States does this as well. There are also a sites that allows woman to share expensive accessories, like purses and jewelery; one example is Bag Borrow or Steal. I am very partial to the bike concept, because as a daily biker, and bicycle commuter, i find the Eco-friendliness and health benefits as great advantages compared to other forms of transportation. This idea would be hard to implement in the larger US cities, as NY, Boston and LA are not really bike friendly (yet…). But for cities that are bike friendly I would love to see this catch on!
Add New Comment
Viewing 3 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
This service reminds of the German company Deutsche Bahn. They actually were one of the pioneers of the rent a bike system but gained a competitive advantage thru their dedicated call center with helped route bikers to rent/lock station, set up new accounts and provided a 24 hour service. They were actually profiled as the innovator for rent anywhere. Best part about this service is it works with local transportation bus or rail, and puts their bikes in key spots. Most of the pricing seems similar.
Call a Bike
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
also quite cool is the swiss project called: mobility
http://www.mobility.ch
there it is all about car sharing. you have a member card and on every train station in switzerland you'll find a few cards you can reserver in advance. we see in switzerland that more and more people dont have a car but use public transport and if they need a car, they'll combine it with the mobility program. plus: in all the big cities you have tons of those cars. and its heavily supported by swiss government and therefore cheap.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
mobility seems exactly like ZipCar which seems to have really gotten popular in american cities as well.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks