Talking about a Velo-rution

Pedal power comes to Paris

After the celebrations of Bastille Day and another show of French Republicanism – very important to the National Identity apparently – there was more revolutionary activity on Sunday as the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoé, marked his latest attempt to boost the French capital’s green credentials, this time with the launch of Velib.

It’s a copy of a scheme launched two years ago in Lyon, whose idea is to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home – or at least at an out of town car park – and make use of rented bikes. In Lyon (metropolitan population 1.6 million) it captured the hearts of the townsfolk where 60,000 temporary or permanent subscribers have made use of the city’s 4,000 bikes since the launch.

In Paris (metropolitan population 9 + million) the authorities are renting out an initial 10,000 bikes (set to double by the end of the years) at around 750 “stations”. The first half hour is free and then a complicated sliding scale of rates kicks in (Delanoé is clearly a child of French bureaucracy) which admittedly shouldn’t hit the wallets of users too dramatically. You can pick up a bike at one point and return it to another.

But can such a scheme in Paris– as well intentioned as it might be – really mirror the success it has had in Lyon?

Parisian drivers are famous for their lack of respect for the rules of the road in general and other road users in particular. They are Italians – just living further north in a city whose beautiful boulevards give priority to traffic from the right – a rule which some respect and some don’t. Having a dent or a scratch on your car is almost a badge of honour and as anyone who has ever tried to navigate around l’Arc de Triomphe in a car can testify, it requires a degree of madness and supreme will in an area in which even insurance companies won’t honour claims resulting from accidents.

To his credit, during his tenure in office, Delanoë has implemented a general overhaul of the roads – building a maze of bus lanes that manage to clog up the streets and setting up one-way systems that completely bypass some quarters. Driving has, in short, become a nightmare but it hasn’t helped reduce the number of cars or improve tempers and a dearth of separate bicycle lanes does not bode well for his new venture.

Now he seems to have thrown caution completely to the wind and decided to help unsuspecting tourists risk life and limb as they tackle the mild mannered driving skills of the Parisian motorists armed with nothing more than two wheels. And he hasn’t even made the wearing of helmets compulsory.

Velib is undoubtedly eco-friendly, nobody can dispute that, and could be a hit with the tourists – many of whom already use the excellent public transport system. But how much of an impact will it have on the behaviour of those that actually live and work in the city? How useful is it for a mother (or father) -of two, off to the local market for a spot of shopping, or a suit-clad banker hot-pedalling it from one meeting to another – enjoying the pleasures of a November monsoon?

The banks of the Seine are vehicle-free over the summer – frequently creating Sunday afternoon jams throughout the rest of the Paris. And in this bicycle-crazy nation, the Champs Elysees will be closed to traffic when the Tour de Drugz rolls into town for its climax in 10 days time. But it’s hard to imagine cyclists standing much of a chance there – or anywhere else in the city – on any other day of the year.