Sandrine’s Paris

Earlier this year, the Paris Town Hall put in place a public system for bike hire across the capital. I was waiting for a while to see how much it would catch on before I report on it, the truth is it’s works pretty well and is proving very popular but it has its quirks. 

  The general idea is you arrive at one Velib station (there is one every 300 metres in Paris), enter some details on a touchscreen, and you can pick your bike and ride it.Once you’ve arrived at your destination, you just park it at the nearest Velib station. So if you’re already a cyclist, this can be a great way to get to know the city without having to bring your bike to Paris!  

 You can ride for free for up to 30 minutes, and then the system will  charge you for every hour or so, but it’s quite cheap. Alternatively you can get a one-day pass for one euro, or a weekly pass for five euros. You can pay using your Velib or NaviGo card if you’re a subscriber, or your credit card if you’re an occasional user. Just make sure you park your bike on a Velib station  when you’ve finished your journey though, or the system will deduct the deposit from your account, this is to prevent people abusing the system. 

 In practice the system works well, but you’re never 100% sure you’ll find an available bike at a particular station. Likewise, you’re also never guaranteed an available parking spot at your destination. But with a station every 300 metres it’s not too hard to find another station. It’s worth checking your bike is in working order before you decide which one to pick from the terminal, as sometimes they’re not in the best condition. They’re maintained very regularly though.  

More information here: http://www.velib.paris.fr  

A video impression of walking through “La Promenade Plantée”, an extra-long garden sitting atop an old railway path stretching for over 2 miles long, between Bastille and the Park of Vincennes.