PARIS — The mayor of the City of Light had a bright idea: Why not copy the city's popular bicycle-sharing program to the idea of electric-car sharing? Et voilà, Mayor Bertrand Delanoë is spearheading the Autolib' program, which will see a fleet of 4,000 electric cars available for short-term use, evenly divided among the city and suburbs of Paris.
Starting in late 2009 at the soonest, Autolib' will be run by the city's government from 700 rental lots, some of which will be underground parking garages. A user can stop by, pick up an electric car, take it to destinations from the Louvre to the crumbling projects of the banlieue, and drop it off at another rental lot.
Paris transportation chief and Deputy Mayor Annick Lepetit says the Autolib' program, like the Velib' bike-rental program already in place, is designed to make it possible for some people to get away without owning a car at all. Young people are particularly targeted.
Lepetit pointed out that the city is aware there may not be 4,000 electric cars ready to hand out at the start of the program in only 18 months or less. In that case, she said, zero-emissions hybrid vehicles might take the place of the plug-ins.
Although Paris is not yet releasing pricing and details, another Autolib' program is already in place at 15 stations in the central French city of Lyon, renting out such small — but traditionally fueled — cars as the Toyota Prius, Renault Twingo and Kangoo, and Citroën C1 to subscribers on what it calls an "à la carte" basis. The cars are available 24 hours a day and can be reserved by Internet or phone. Parking spots, fuel and insurance are all included in the price, and subscribers are billed monthly for only the actual hours they use the vehicle. After paying a security deposit and a membership fee, rental prices start at the equivalent of $3.27 per hour — and overnights are free. Whether the electric-car program will mirror these guidelines is not yet known.
What this means to you: Paris as the pioneer of electric cars on demand makes sense; after all, this is the same city that pioneered a fleet of unbelievably hygienic — and completely fascinating — self-cleaning toilet booths on the streets. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Starting in late 2009 at the soonest, Autolib' will be run by the city's government from 700 rental lots, some of which will be underground parking garages. A user can stop by, pick up an electric car, take it to destinations from the Louvre to the crumbling projects of the banlieue, and drop it off at another rental lot.
Paris transportation chief and Deputy Mayor Annick Lepetit says the Autolib' program, like the Velib' bike-rental program already in place, is designed to make it possible for some people to get away without owning a car at all. Young people are particularly targeted.
Lepetit pointed out that the city is aware there may not be 4,000 electric cars ready to hand out at the start of the program in only 18 months or less. In that case, she said, zero-emissions hybrid vehicles might take the place of the plug-ins.
Although Paris is not yet releasing pricing and details, another Autolib' program is already in place at 15 stations in the central French city of Lyon, renting out such small — but traditionally fueled — cars as the Toyota Prius, Renault Twingo and Kangoo, and Citroën C1 to subscribers on what it calls an "à la carte" basis. The cars are available 24 hours a day and can be reserved by Internet or phone. Parking spots, fuel and insurance are all included in the price, and subscribers are billed monthly for only the actual hours they use the vehicle. After paying a security deposit and a membership fee, rental prices start at the equivalent of $3.27 per hour — and overnights are free. Whether the electric-car program will mirror these guidelines is not yet known.
What this means to you: Paris as the pioneer of electric cars on demand makes sense; after all, this is the same city that pioneered a fleet of unbelievably hygienic — and completely fascinating — self-cleaning toilet booths on the streets. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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