Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

VELIB

Nantes rolls out France’s first long-term bike rental scheme

The western French city of Nantes is the first in the country to offer its residents the chance to rent out public bikes for anything from a month to a year.

Published: 7 September 2018 16:29 CEST
Nantes rolls out France's first long-term bike rental scheme
Photo:Mon Bicloo

Mon Bicloo is the first bike rental scheme of its kind in France, as up to now all public cycle services in l’Héxagone allowed users to rent out two-wheelers for one single journey. 

A total of 1,000 self-service bikes were made available to the public on Thursday at Carré Feydeau shopping mall in the city of Nantes in France’s Pays de Loire region.

Depending on the time, tariffs and conditions chosen, the medium term rental costs range from €20 to €150 per month to between €120 and €1,080 for the year.

The bikes are a mix of classis cycles, electrically assisted, foldable, cargo carriers and bikes adapted to people with reduced mobility.

Routine maintenance is included in the price, as well as a padlock.

A Maison Bicloo has already opened at the launch spot in Nantes, where users can take in their bike for repair, to make new bookings and try out different models. There will also be a mobile Bicloo to offer the cycle services to all 24 municipalities in Nantes.

By 2020, the fleet will be doubled and three quarters will be electric models.

“We believe that cycling must become a means of transport in its own right,” Johanna Rolland, president of Nantes Métropole, told French daily 20 Minutes.

“With this new offering, we want to get more people on board as cyclists. It will allow users to for example test a model before buying their own.”


 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

VELIB

Paris Velib’ customers forced to wait until 2019 for normal service

The scandal-hit company charged with revamping the French capital's bike share system has said the Velib' service won't be fully operational until 2019... a year later than planned.

Published: 4 September 2018 10:15 CEST
Paris Velib' customers forced to wait until 2019 for normal service
Photo: AFP
Smovengo, a startup based in the southern city of Montpellier, took over the running of the popular bike hire service in December last year promising that 600 stations would be working as of January 1st 2018, with 20,000 bikes available by the end of March.
 
But after a calamitous year that included multiple setbacks and delays, as well as users complaining about the wheels falling off their bikes, bugs affecting their app, a system malfunction spreading to many of its docking stations, Smovengo has promised that the service will be fully up and running a year late, in January 2019. 
 
The Vélib' operator has said that there will be 20,000 self-service bikes and 1,400 open stations in the Paris region for the beginning of 2019.
 
“Currently, there are around 820 stations and 10,000 bicycles available, including 3,400 with electric assistance, against about 2,000 bikes at the beginning of July,” President of Smovengo Arnaud Marion told FranceInfo.
 
As a result of the disastrous roll out, Smovengo's contract is set to be reviewed on September 21st and faces being scrapped. 
 
“Very honestly, if there was a cancellation today, I would not understand it, given the work and investments that have been made and the degree of progress over the summer,” Marion said. 
 
In January, the public-private consortium that runs the scheme, Autolib' Velib' Metropole pronounced itself “dissatisfied” and said it would penalise Smovengo a million euros ($1.22 million) as set out in its contract.
 
The disruptions began before Christmas 2017 and Paris cyclists, many of whom rely on the hire bikes for their commute, have been enraged over the calamity.
 
READ ALSO:

Paris's e-bikes recalled in yet another crisis for VelibPhoto: AFP

SHOW COMMENTS