Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Velib, a huge success


Huge success for the Velib, the - almost - free bike system that the Paris Town Hall installed about a month ago. The 1 million bike rental milestone was hit only 18 days after the inauguration and about 50 000 to 70 000 people use it everyday. I still haven't tried it yet. One more day before my vacation... Just uploaded 20 pics for you, now I need to write the captions!

35 comments:

  1. As fun as it looks, I think I still might be more than a little nervous riding around Paris - and I ride around San Francisco!

    Do folks wear helmets there?

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  2. Coucou Buzzgirl ;)
    Yes some do, but most don't. I did not hear of any accident yet.

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  3. Hey, that's great news! I'm glad people are using these things. How many stolen so far? ;)

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  4. I see white sneakers!

    Monica be prepared not to come off the cloud.....I know I'm still floating from my experience and I can see there are many reasons to come back and back....

    Eric thank you for my daily reminder of a wonderful holiday and the best to you on your holiday. (I especially enjoy yesterday/todays "come on baby..." she is quite the coquette.

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  5. I witnessed the success of Velib, everybody seemed to be riding it! I was tempted to try it but was a bit lazy to try to understand how the machine where you make a deposite worked.

    Philly we just keep dreaming of Paris don't we?!

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  6. I would love to meet the guy who came up this idea and then saw it through. I'm sure eveyone thought he was crazy.

    --steve buser
    New Orleans Daily Photo

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  7. PARIS à bicyclette, Yves Montand l'aurait surement aimé ainsi.
    Paris miss me a lot.

    Comment from another Eric, another Parisian... exiled in Seoul (South Korea).

    PS : Longue vie au ParisDailyPhoto !

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  8. Steve Buser, I agree. I've thought the same thing. "I'm sure they thought he (or she) was crazy!"

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  9. I can't wait to try this one day.

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  10. Well Tomate, of course people are using them. A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired!

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  11. Bikes are great. I'm glad that the experiment is a success. Have fun on your vacation.

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  12. That sounds great. In Brussels we have the same but far less expanded. I'm going to Paris this weekend so I think that I will give it a try actually.
    Enjoy your vacation

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  13. Tomate, I think Velib' did the max to avoid being stolen : 1/ spare parts have a different standard than any other bike, so that it is impossible to re-use them, and 2/ the whole bike is so heavy (22 kg), that I don't think anybody would like to own one. They're OK for shorts rides (less than 1/2 hour) in Paris, but not more !

    Eric, bonnes vacances !

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  14. I hope you enjoy your vacation at least half as much as we enjoy visiting your blog!

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  15. Hi Eric,

    Barcelona's had a system like this for a few months now. I paid sis euros and they gave me a card that allows me use of the bikes for a year.

    The scheme is so successful it has become a victim of its own success - i.e. the demand is so high that it's often difficult to find a bike - which means I end up taking the bus!

    Bob

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  16. True! (I'm from BCN, too, first comment in this nice blog, hello everybody!). It's called "Bicing", it's operative from this March, and now I think they are trying to add many more bikes to satisfy the overwhelming success and demand.

    Very interesting phenomenon. Maybe we'll all finaly follow the Amsterdam way of life :-)

    Alex

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  17. I tried Velib 3 or 4 times already. Very simple, very usefull. I love it !

    1. I always took a bike in the evening. Less cars, more bikes on the spot
    2. Never take one or try to let it in a popular place. Or you must be ready to kill people.
    3. Very useful when it's too late to have a subway. Less expensive than a taxi. Much more enjoyable than a night bus.

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  18. Ah so that's how it's done. Upload them all before you go then a mystery person - i'm betting Ham - will press the magic button. Glad we won't be left in the dark, Eric! Have fun.
    Send us a comment (equivalent postcard) now and then if you can.

    These bikes are just great but i can't see it working here in the UK, they'd just be stolen.

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  19. Interesting concept. Must be a neat way to make money.

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  20. so nice your blog, i do love paris!
    greetings form brasil!

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  21. Have fun Eric!

    Michael: *groan* 'nuff said.

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  22. What Soosha...you're the only one who even noticed! ;-)

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  23. ....sigh......i noticed too Michael..... I did! Yes you made me groan too. Soosha and i are going to club together at Christmas to buy you a proper Big BUmper Book of Jokes. At least i think she'll be in on it with me; you need one. If not, i'll just have to save up the 50p by myself.

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  24. Ahhh man...and here I thought I was making this photo interesting. I mean really, a guy pedaling a bike... whoop-di-doo... I can do that. I mean I think I can. I mean I used to. I mean... ;-)

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  25. And while we're OFF the subject...

    50p? You can find a better book than that. I'm sure I could get 50p for all of my bad jokes!

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  26. They would be stolen in the U.S., too. We can't even keep hold of our shopping carts...

    Claire, I like your idea of using them after the Metro closes for the night. Also less chance of me being run over since there will be less traffic.

    Michael - I love your jokes - even the tres corny ones. You are le prince des puns!

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  27. I saw a few bike stands today while I was walking around. What I don't understand is if there is a map so you know where to find other stands to drop the bike off. There is one outside our hotel so I would like to try it. Amazingly the Parisians are respectful of the bike lanes, having done a Fat Tire Tour and lived to tell the tale.
    I HAD to see the stuffed rats today. What a riot! I had another flight attendant with me, and after the initial eeww's , she said to email the pdp address to her so she too, can keep up to date on Paris.. I noticed that the children saw the windows before the parents,which made me realize even more , Eric, how perceptive you are.
    I'm so jet lagged, I first typed my name as PDP-CDG.

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  28. lol i knew the 50p wouldn't be lost on you Michael. Not really; i'll spend at least a pound, the jokes might be better in that book. If you're very good, i might even throw in a colouring book and some pens. x i'm only kidding you know that?

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  29. Hey PDP-CDG...you're here! Sorry I'll miss seeing you. Enjoy your "lag-time".

    Thanks Pont Girl - I was beginning to get a complex!

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  30. Yes Lynn, you better be joking. I think I'm worth at least a fiver!

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  31. Hi everyone, I'm sorry I have not been much around lately, but, as you guess I'm pretty busy those days.
    I have to wake up @ 6 am to pack (no I did not pack yet!) so, so long, next time I speak to you it'll be from the other side of the Atlantic (well, that is if everything goes well, of course...)

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  32. We look forward to it, Eric. It will go well, i feel it. Happy hols x

    Okay then Michael a fiver no more. You'll have to come up with funnier jokes i'm afraid. lol! I'm sitting here with a glass of Californian Merlot and i'm thinking what fun it would be to have you sit on my white sofa making me laugh with your silly jokes.

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  33. Lynn: Michael would certainly make you laugh a lot, his humour never stops! I couldn't get him and my husband to stop with the jokes while I was trying to tell my Paris stories, Eric was the only one (trying) to pay attention to my conversation!

    PHX-CDG you're there!!!
    I remembered you one night when I saw a bunch of bikers from the Fat Tire Tour. Actually it was like a thousand bikes, I don't know where they were coming from, never saw so many bikes together and it was not La Tour de France!

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  34. Hi ! I just tried a Velib today and because it was a gloriously sunny Sunday, I was not the only one in Paris to think of our new system.

    In fact yesterday I was down in the 6th along the Seine (with all the tourists) and noticed that many of the Velib stations were completely full and people had abandoned their Velib bikes, probably not knowing that it would cost dearly.

    Here is the solution: once you reach your destination and the station is full, swipe your Velib or Navigo card on the station reader. It will recognize that the station is full, re-direct you to another station with empty places *and* give you another 15 minutes free !!

    Now the next problem is with everyone taking a Velib to the popular neighborhoods, the nearest empty place may be some ways away. I suspect this is the case since I was in the more residential areas and many (5 or 6 stations) had no bikes left !

    Good Velib-ing !

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