Paris Officials Seek Bids to Run Self-Serve Velib-Like Electric-Car-Sharing System

Paris Officials Seek Bids to Run Self-Serve Velib-Like Electric-Car-Sharing System

Paris city officials and local authorities in several surrounding districts have called for bids to run a self-service electric car hire program modeled on the Velib bike rental system.

The Velib system was launched on July 2007. Ten thousand bicycles were introduced to the city with 750 automated rental stations, each with 15 or more bikes/spaces. This number has since grown to 20,000 bicycles and 1,450 stations, roughly one station every 300 yards throughout the city center.

The "Autolib," which is scheduled to start in September 2011, would consist of an initial 3,000 vehicles at 1,000 rental sites in Paris and neighboring communities. Four thousand battery-charging stations are also planned.

A candidate to run the Autolib service will be chosen by the end of next year.

Since their introduction, the popular Velib bikes have become a firmly established part of the Paris city landscape, used for short journeys in the capital by everyone from office workers to tourists, students and grandmothers.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.