It looks like a pretty good first week for the Paris bicycle rental program, although there have been a couple of bumps along the way.
Parisians are renting an average 45,000 bicycles a day in the city's plan to reduce automobile use and clean up the air. The so-called Vélib' program (named for a combination of velo and liberte) has 10,000 bicycles placed around the city in 750 self-service stations.
A major problem? All the bikes end up at the bottom of the hills because no one wants to ride up. The Los Angeles Times talked to a Montmartre resident who can rarely find a bike at his local station:
“Everyone goes down and no one wants to ride the bike up the hill. The bikes are all at the bottom.”
The city has trucks to move the bicycles from one station to another, but officials say they need time to learn the traffic patterns. Elsewhere, some patrons will ride bikes to a cafe after work, only to find the bike kiosks empty when they're ready to leave.
Residents can buy an annual pass for about $40, or pay a Euro to use the bike for a half-hour.
More about at Vélib' International Herald Tribune.
Cities in the US are checking out the Paris plan, among them Washington DC (“..can DC be far behind?”)
And non-profits in some towns offer community bikes. Check out Austin, Texas (The Yellow Bike Program), Arcata, California (Arcata Library Bike), and the Iowa City Bike Library, among others.
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