Paris Woos Cyclists as Free Bike Scheme Takes Off
by Trey Granger
Published on August 1st, 2007
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The Environmental News Network reports that Paris has begun a bike sharing program called “Velib” (short for “free bike”), which has already generated 616,000 users and 750 distribution points. The program currently has about 10,000 bikes in place and a daily subscription costs one euro.
“Paris is unlikely ever to rival classic bicycling cities like Amsterdam. But Velib is a revolution in a city with a vast metro network but an increasingly choked road system, where bicycling has long been looked on with suspicion.”
Other cities like New York have contemplated bike sharing programs to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions. The Paris program has attracted the interest of everyone from students to business executives, and although there are fewer cars on the street there are also more complaints from drivers and pedestrians about the increase in bikers.
