[wordup] Let Them Ride Bikes!

[Adam Shand]

There's a petition for a similar system in Wellington, see:

http://www.wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/e-petitions/ep/details/23

As somebody at work pointed out, it's odd that they talk about  
dedicated bike paths and parking spots but don't point out the  
fundamental joy of being able to bus into town and then ride where  
ever you want.

Also note that when they say "free" they mean free as in "freedom" not  
free as in "zero dollars".

Another interesting thing I see is that it looks like anyone can  
create their own online petition to the New Zealand government.   
That's great!

http://www.wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/e-petitions/ep/createconditions/

Adam.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/world/europe/16paris.html

July 16, 2007
PARIS JOURNAL
A New French Revolution’s Creed: Let Them Ride Bikes
By KATRIN BENNHOLD
PARIS, July 15 — About a dozen sweaty people pedaled bicycles up the  
Champs-Élysées on Sunday toward the Arc de Triomphe, as onlookers  
cheered.

These were not the leading riders of the Tour de France racing toward  
the finish line, but American tourists testing this city’s new  
communal bike program.

“I’m never taking the subway again,” said a beaming Justin Hill, 47, a  
real estate broker from Santa Barbara, Calif.

More than 10,600 of the hefty gray bicycles became available for  
modest rental prices on Sunday at 750 self-service docking stations  
that provide access in eight languages. The number is to grow to  
20,600 by the end of the year.

The program, Vélib (for “vélo,” bicycle, and “liberté,” freedom), is  
the latest in a string of European efforts to reduce the number of  
cars in city centers and give people incentives to choose more eco- 
friendly modes of transport.

“This is about revolutionizing urban culture,” said Pierre Aidenbaum,  
mayor of Paris’s trendy third district, which opened 15 docking  
stations on Sunday. “For a long time cars were associated with freedom  
of movement and flexibility. What we want to show people is that in  
many ways bicycles fulfill this role much more today.”

Users can rent a bike online or at any of the stations, using a credit  
or debit card and leave them at any other station.

A one-day pass costs 1 euro ($1.38), a weekly pass 5 euros ($6.90) and  
a yearly subscription 29 euros ($40), with no additional charges as  
long as each bike ride does not exceed 30 minutes. (Beyond that, there  
is an incremental surcharge, to make sure that as many bikes as  
possible stay in the rotation.)

The outdoor advertising company J. C. Decaux is paying for the  
bicycles, docking stations and maintenance in return for exclusive use  
of 1,628 urban billboards owned by the city. The city receives the  
rental income, and city officials say they are hoping the program will  
bring in millions of euros.

Vélib is the brainchild of Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a Socialist and  
longtime green campaigner who has set a target for the city to reduce  
car traffic by 40 percent by 2020. Since he took office in 2001, his  
administration has added about 125 miles of bicycle paths, at the  
expense of lanes for cars, prompting accusations from drivers that it  
has aggravated congestion in the city.

But even the most hardened cyclists still try to avoid some parts of  
Paris. The Champs-Élysées is not for the faint-hearted. The police  
have so far refused to grant a permit for a cycle lane along the  
avenue, fearing hopeless congestion on this main traffic artery.

Jean-Luc Dumesnil, who is an adviser in City Hall on cycling policy,  
said that while the number of bicycles on the streets increased by 50  
percent in the last six years, the number of cycling accidents  
remained stable.

“It’s the cycling paths, but it’s also a question of critical mass,”  
Mr. Dumesnil said. “The more bikes there are, the more car drivers get  
used to them and the more care they take.”

Still, only about 40,000 of the 2.5 million Parisians say they use  
their bicycles regularly. Mr. Delanoë would like to raise that number  
to 250,000 by the end of the year.

City Hall is hoping to draw on the experience of smaller-scale rental  
programs in other cities like Berlin and Stockholm to address concerns  
about theft and financial viability that ended an experimental program  
in Amsterdam in the 1960s.

The key, Mr. Aidenbaum said, is to make it easy. “What this initiative  
does is to take away some of the inconveniences of owning a bike in  
Paris,” he said, “the lack of storage space in Paris buildings, the  
issue of theft and the hassle of maintenance.”

First indications are positive. Even before the docking stations  
opened, 13,000 people had bought annual subscriptions online. On  
Sunday, some docking stations were so popular that they temporarily  
ran out of bikes.

Denis Bocquet, 37, an urban planner who divides his time between Paris  
and Berlin, had to wait in line before renting a bike with his  
partner, Nora Lafi. From now on, he said, he would use the Vélib to go  
to work during his stints in Paris.

“It used to be stressful and dangerous to cycle in Paris, but the city  
has changed, and this could change it even more,” Mr. Bocquet said.

Some residents are skeptical about how long the shiny new fleet of  
rental bikes will survive unscathed. “There is a lot of gratuitous  
vandalism that could harm this initiative in this area,” said Marylise  
Dutoit, 37, a primary school teacher.

But she said she would try to use it to go work every day because it  
would reduce her 20-minute Métro commute to 10 minutes.

By 2:30, Mr. Hill, his wife, Megan, and their two teenagers were at  
the Arc de Triomphe, on their third set of bicycles.

“But when we’re done here we might get one more bike to go back to the  
hotel and swing by the Eiffel Tower on the way,” Ms. Hill said as her  
son Tommy, 17, rolled his eyes. “This is fun. I never realized Paris  
was so small!”

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company