Paris pushes the pedal to the ground all over town with its free-use bicycle rental service that makes cycling the streets as accessible and affordable as taking the metro.  A tourist from Quebec was recently celebrated as Vélib's 100 millionth customer.

The Mairie de Paris'  environmentally progressive innovation in urban transport of unprecedented ambition has revolutionized Paris' cityscape since its launch in July 2007. With each bike being rented 8,000 times clocking an average of 16,000km the Marie estimates that this represents a saving of 40,000 tons of CO2.

The city of Paris has been working to become more cycle-friendly for some time, continually developing its 371 kilometers of bike-able paths and such initiative as "Paris Respire" for which select streets are closed to motor traffic on Sundays and holidays.  Since June 2010 the mayor's office has done much to make many improvements to bicycle traffic signals, parking and has even legalized bicycle paths going against traffic on about 90% of one-way streets.

While such programs encouraged leisure cycling, city officials now turn an eye to functional cycling to meet head on evolving urban challenges of traffic congestion, parking and pollution.
The city-wide Vélib' campaign, short for vélo libre,  features the free use of thousands of bicycles available at 1,800  rental locations which dot the city at intervals of 300 meters.  Anyone over the age of 14 is welcome to rent a bike 24 hours day.

The campaign, which was launched four years ago, is geared toward short-term use, encouraging utilitarian mileage rather than leisure use. "We want to show people that the bicycle is a viable mode of urban transportation," says Vélib' project chief Céline Lepault.  Based on the successful pilot in Lyon which debuted May 2005 the Parisian counterpart offers a first half hour of use free for each journey with incremental increases per half hour: one euro for the second, two euros for third, and four euros for each supplementary half hour. A 150 Euro subscription fee is paid prior to participation.

How it works

There are a few choices that make for all around easy riding.  For those whose use is likely to exceed occasional, two year long membership options are available:  Vélib Classic for 29 Euros/year with the first 30 minutes of each ride free of charge; Vélib Passion for 39 Euros/year (29 Euros for 14 - 26 year-olds) with the first 45 minutes of each ride free.  Visitors are just as welcome to use the cycle system with either of two short-term subscriptions: One day and one week rental plans are available at 1.70 Euros and 8 Euros respectively; these lesser engagements may be purchased directly at automated rental stations, which offer service in eight languages, including English.

In all cases, a 150 Euro security deposit is required, either in the form of cheque (in the case of one-year membership) or as credit-card pre-authorization in the other two arrangements; however the credit card must have a smart chip as most European cards do, but most North American cards do not.  This issue can be side-stepped by purchasing the subscription on-line in advance.

For those who find themselves in Paris with only a credit card with a magnetic strip and no "puce" one can purchase a reloadable Master Card with a smart chip from Travelex on the spot at any of their locations in Paris; the most central location is 8 place Opera.  The "Cash Passport" is valid for five years and costs 10 Euros plus a 1% fee.  You can also get a second card with a different number and PIN on the same account for free.  The minimum you need to load onto the card is 200 Euros, but if you have money left on it when you leave France and do not think you will be back to Europe to use it before it expires, then you can go back to the Travelex office with your passport and get your money back off the card for 6 Euros.  There is an information booklet available at the Travelex office with all of the rules and fees explained in English or go to http://www.cashpassport.com

The system of payment functions on the basis of membership card: a pre-authorization on a credit or bankcard is issued with the initial purchase of the membership at departure. Upon return of the bike to a docking station, the cost of the journey is calculated and debited from the account.  Resident users may also choose to combine payment to their Navigo card, with which Vélib' is also compatible.

But the system offers much more than mere convenience. It represents a decisive step toward alternative methods of urban transport and has inspired similar programs in London and around the globe.  With now nearly 20,000 bikes, the program has doubled the number of cyclists on Paris' streets.  A map of the bike lanes can be downloaded from the website or picked up from any bike shop or mairie. Parisians and visitors alike have an opportunity to cycle the sights while participating in an initiative that has already begun to revolutionize metropolitan transport. Tel: 01 30 79 79 30, http://www.velib.paris.fr

Link to the official Velib site in English: 
http://en.velib.paris.fr/