A few weeks ago, Paris unleashed 10,000 self-service bicycles on the city for public use. With a €29 yearly subscription you get a free half hour use of a bike every day, or you can purchase a day pass for €1 and take a bike around Paris.
So far it sounds like it's working. According to this article in the London Times, the bikes have been borrowed 1.2 million times in the first 3 weeks. The program is not without it's difficulties. Some bikes have been vandalized and stolen. It's amusing that the bike stations on the downhill sides are crowded with bikes because people will pick up a bike uphill and coast down. I wonder if they have some way to re-allocate bikes to the 750 Vélib stations throughout the town.
Hopefully they can become a model for other large cities as a way to reduce traffic congestion.
www.velib.paris.fr/
I saw these all over Munich too this week. It is a good idea, especially in a city where everything is pretty central.
ReplyDeleteThat is way cool. I take the bus to work every day but I'm trying to figure out how to use my bike without having to deal with hat head or showers, or taking a lot of extra time getting to and from etc. (It's all about time and convenience for me :)
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