Monday, June 25, 2012

Velib is 5 years old!


The Velib (on demand bicycle service that I mentioned many times here) has just turned 5! With more than 23 000 bicycles and 1 700 stations, it has really conquered the hart of many Parisians (there are 224 000 - regular - subscribers and more that 13 million people used it at least once (I did!) during the 5 past years. To celebrate, there was a velib "race" yesterday morning on the Champs Elysées. I was there, of course (taking photos, not riding!!). More about Velib in English.

10 comments:

  1. Great service! So popular here. Also, for people who have their own bikes, there are now racks on the front of public buses so they can hook their bicycles on there when they are going on a long trip or want to ride the bus on the Expressway.

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  2. Bike racks on the buses is a great idea. They are popular here. We have "Nice Ride" bikes as our Velibes. I think it's the third year for Nice Ride. It's good to see these transportation options in more and more places in the world.

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  3. I remember when you first told us about it. I guess I've been coming here a while!

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  4. @Petrea. At least 5 years Petrea, at least 5 years!!

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  5. You sure have to hand it to the French...turning an old idea into a great one...and I love the style of bicycles...sooo sexy.

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  6. Great way of going about Paris if you know the way! Speed-pedal to your favorite boulangerie every morning and park it back within 30 minutes. It's free the first 30 minutes!

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  7. We copied them here with Boris Bikes. A big hit. I can rely on the bikes, unlike the tube.

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  8. Wonderful! I am glad that such a thing is available, perhaps I'll be able to use it when I visit. :)

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  9. I'm glad this is such a success—and I hope that the NYC version (coming next month, they say) will be just as popular! (Even though I have a bike of my own in Brooklyn, I'll probably use it in Manhattan.)

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  10. That's wonderful that the Velib is so popular! And good to see other similar programs springing up in other places.

    [Like Petrea, I remember when you first posted about the Velib, too. It's really been 5 years??]

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