Thousands of public, easy to use bicycles known as velibs were introduced to the streets of Paris last year in an effort to reduce congestion in the city, and now the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanöe, has stepped up his efforts to be re-elected as mayor by pledging to expand the scheme with the use of electric vehicles.
Like the bikes, the electric vehicles, called Voiturelib’s, will be available to the residents and tourists for a small subscription charge but without the need to book ahead. Also, users will be able to pick them up from any EV station in the city, but will be able to leave them anywhere in Paris, rather than returning them to the pick up point.
Full details of the scheme are yet to be announced, but it will likely start with 2000 vehicles and will act as an alternative to introducing a congestion charge, which Delanöe had already rejected as an option. The vehicles used are likely to either be a car known as the Blue Car project – a three-seater with a 156 mile range, or the Cleanova, (pictured) which uses the body of the small Renault Kangoo van.
The plans have been greeted by sceptism by some, however, as the velib bicycle scheme is already facing problems. The advertising giant JC Decaux, who run the velib program in exchange for a monopoly on the city’s advertising billboards, are facing the prospect of fines because hundreds of the public bicycles are already in need of repair; and in December, the velib scheme suffered its first fatality, when a woman cycling a velib was struck by a truck. Critics of the electric vehicle proposal fear the cars may face the same problems.
Whether the plan goes ahead or not, Cleanova vehicles will soon be seen on the roads in France anyway, as the car goes on sale later this year. The vehicle can travel at up to 80mph and can be fitted with two to five seats.
