Bienvenue à la velolution

The debut of Velib', Paris' bike sharing program, was covered pretty extensively by the MSM.

   Velib' is Socialist Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's latest effort to make Paris more green and bike-friendly, after ripping up car lanes to install bike paths -- much to the angst of some drivers, who complain there are more bottlenecks now.

Today, there are 230 miles of bike lanes in Paris, and Paris City Hall says the amount of bike traffic has increased nearly 50 percent since 2001. Paris isn't a paradise for bikers yet -- there's still a lot of car traffic and confusing one-way streets -- but a ride is no longer the obstacle course it once was.

The Paris program has several striking differences from the one planned for D.C. First is the sheer size of the program.

Paris City Hall launched a new bicycle service Sunday, with more than 10,600 posted at 750 stations all over the city.

and..

the numbers of both will nearly double by the year's end.

Compare that with D.C.'s 120 bikes at 10 locations (which may not be enough according to Paris' planners)

"This idea has failed elsewhere simply because there were not enough stations, which is why we're making sure people here will never be far from a station," Celine Lepault, head of the project said.

In addition, Paris designed theirs with tourists in mind.

Velib' is also accessible to tourists.

Stop in at any station around town with your credit card. They accept American Express, Visa and MasterCard, among others.

Each station comes with an electronic vending machine with instructions in eight languages. Select "English," and the machine will walk you through the instructions. Along the way, you must authorize Velib' to deduct $205 from your card if the bike is not returned within 24 hours. (For a one-year subscription, you have to sign up online or by mail to use the service, but for a one- or seven-day pass, you can do it at the machine.)

Once you've picked a bike, you have 60 seconds to push a button on the stand and pull the bike free. Adjust the seat, and you're ready to go. The bike has a basket and a built-in lock,

Addendum:(DC bikes will not have built in locks, I haven't heard if they'll have baskets or lights)

so you can secure it if you need to run into a shop or make a quick stop. For longer stops, you'll save money if you return the bike to a station.

To put the bike back, you slide it into the stand, and you'll hear a beep and see a blinking light if it's attached right. Be sure to push it in firmly.

One drawback for the tourist: Since the stations are not manned, there's no one to ask for help with directions, so bring a map and be prepared to stop a passer-by if you get lost.

So much so that CNN covered it in their travel section. D.C. on the other hand...

Because of the web-based registration and member card requirement, the system is not geared toward tourists.

And the pricing in Paris is geared toward short trips

A yearlong pass costs $39.50, while a one-day pass costs $1.36 _ and a seven-day ticket goes for $6.80. But the project is designed for short rides and has a sliding price scale _ so as to keep the bikes in rotation.

The first half-hour after users pick up a bike is free, but additional half-hours cost extra. Anyone who does not know the sliding scale and goes for a long joyride is in for a surprise: A one-day pass plus a 6-hour ride costs around $55.

D.C. is not planning to have the first half hour free, but there's no word on how much it will cost. Like Paris D.C. will not supply helmets. This is an idea worth stealing..

Paris is distributing pocket copies of road safety rules to Velib' riders

Despite all the excitement, the plan will succeed or fail only if it can provide a service to the rational user and sustain the pressures of urban life.

There is a lot of gratuitous vandalism that could harm this initiative in this area,” said Marylise Dutoit, 37, a primary school teacher.

But she said she would try to use it to go work every day because it would reduce her 20-minute Métro commute to 10 minutes.

It's success could help the program elsewhere, especially since many people think of the failed yellow bike program when they think about communal bikes.

"In Austin, there is dialogue on the subject and our mayor is on record as committing Austin to becoming as close to carbon-neutral as possible through several programs," he said. "But he has yet to propose rental bikes as any part of the solution."

One scheme that has been tried in Austin, Atlanta, and elsewhere is the Yellow Bike Project. It lets people freely borrow donated bikes for short rides and return them to designated dropoff points.

"But the bikes generally disappear just as quickly as the project can get the bikes onto the street," Meredith said. "The bikes' value is perceived as zero, so people think it is OK to do anything they wish with them."

I hope this is an enormous success, and I hope D.C. is still the first US city to try it. Mostly I hope there are plans to quickly scale this up to the size that's needed to make it work - and that they think carefully about the first half hour free idea which I think is critical.

If reading articles about this isn't enough you can watch a video here on CNN - which features concerns by automobile associations about protecting cyclists.

Comments

[iconoclasst]

Great post, WC. Very cool program in Paris; the mayor (Socialist...hmm, makes sense) there deserves kudos for setting the bar high.

DC needs to get moving with this. And yes, I agree about having the first half-hour free--that will spur the initial interest, I think.

[iconoclasst]

You know, a nice little commuter tax would go a long way toward funding this program. Have the people who don't live in the city but clog its streets pay for this little bit of relief.

[washcycle]

If by commuter tax you mean congestion tax, I'm in. Oddly, so is the Bush Administration.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/02/05/bush-administration-advocates-for-congestion-pricing/

[washcycle]

From that article: "I can't believe I'm saying these words," said Stringer in the release, "but I applaud the Bush Administration for their forward thinking on the issue of congestion and thank them for their willingness to work with local governments to address their unique problems."

[bawler]

Really well done comparison.
-you can't lock the bike
-tourists can't easily use the bikes

These are major barriers, plus the fact that there aren't that many of them.