Liberty, Egality, Electricity
Fast on the heels (or should that be wheels?) of Paris’s successful Velib cheap bicycle rental scheme (see earlier blog) comes Autolib – pay-as-you-go electric cars.
It’s hoped the scheme will begin in late 2009 or early 2010 with a fleet of 4,000 electric cars – 2,000 for the city centre and 2,000 for the suburbs. Autolib would enable drivers to pick up a car from one of 700 designated points and drop it off at any other point, paying only for minutes spent behind the wheel.
Officials in Paris believe it will cut down on pollution by encouraging people not to bring their own cars into the city. They particularly want to target those who are considering buying their first car in the hope of persuading them not to buy a polluting one.
There’s already been a lively debate about the proposal. Some drivers are delighted, others see it as a step backwards, fearing it will produce more traffic and dependence on cars in an already congested city.
Many issues still have to be worked out, including rental costs, insurance and whether tourists will be able to make use of the scheme. There’s also the question of security – some of Velib’s bicycles have been stolen and spotted as far away as Australia.
by Andy Moreton
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