Paris Launches a Vehicle Sharing Program with 3,000 Electric Vehicles

This electric car sharing system is aimed to reduce the number of private cars as well as restrain pollution, according to the Paris municipal government. The plan, dubbed "the Autolib" system, is similar to already functioning "velib system" which is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris launched in 2007.

The first experimental stage of the Autolib project is said to last two month with 66 cars at 33 stations around the city. Costumers can pay between 5 euros and 7 euros (6.7-9.4 U.S. dollars) for every half-hour use or register for a yearly, weekly or 24-hour package with different cost and necessary identity cards, driving licences and an uncashed deposit.

Once fully charged, the four-seated "Bluecar" can reach a top speed of 130 km an hour and has a range of 250 km with a single charge. In order to encourage short journey rather than long trip around the capital, Paris administration wants to expand the system to a 250-car team by this December, and then to 2,000 by next summer.

The Autolib system is intended to build on the success of the Velib bicycle-rental service, similar to that operating in many European cities. A two-month pilot project will allow motorists to hire the battery-powered Bluecar for 30 minutes at a cost of four to eight euros.

Autolib’ will work just like Velib’, and like most bike sharing systems. After signing up (you’ll need a driver’s license and a credit card, find an Autolib’ recharging station with available cars. Select your vehicle, unplug it, and take off. To return it, find a station with a free spot, and plug it in. Done.

Self-service electric cars appeared on the streets of Paris, as a French group launched a public car-hire scheme. The Autolib’ venture set up by Vincent Bollore, a prominent businessman with ties to President Nicolas Sarkozy, kicked off a two-month testing phase with around 60 vehicles scattered over 10 stations. The programme is expected to be scaled up to 250 vehicles on December 5 and could include 2,000 of the small four-seaters over 46 municipalities around the French capital by the end of June 2012.

“This service will complement public transport and taxis. Our aim to widen the range of available transport,” deputy Paris mayor Annick Lepetit said at the launch. The Bollore group predicts it will need 80,000 users to make a profit and hopes to attract customers with a low fee of 12 euros a month for an annual subscription. Car-sharing systems exist in New York and cities in the Netherlands but the Autolib’ project in Paris is a novelty in that all vehicles are electric.

The Autolib system is intended to build on the success of the Velib bicycle-rental service, similar to that operating in many European cities. A two-month pilot project will allow motorists to hire the battery-powered Bluecar for 30 minutes at a cost of four to eight euros.

Membership of the Autolib scheme will cost from 10 euros a day up to 144 euros a year. The cars are being provided by entrepreneur Vincent Bollore and manufactured by the Italian designer Pininfarina, famous for sculpting Ferraris and Maseratis.

They will have a range of up to 250 km before a recharge, which will take about four hours. At first, 66 of the four-seater electric vehicles will be available for hire at 33 charging stations.

But Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe intends to expand to 3,000 electric vehicles and more than 1,000 stations by the end of 2012. "We want to persuade people to shift from the concept of owning a car to that of using a car," Autolib General Manager Morald Chibout told the Reuters news agency.

Plugging in at a charging station The scheme intends to have 1000 charging stations across Paris by the end of 2012. The project gets underway as leading automakers test driver enthusiasm for electric cars on a large scale in Europe.

Renault SA and its Japanese sister company Nissan Motor Company have invested 4 billion euros in electric cars. Carlos Ghosn, who leads Renault and Nissan, has said electric cars could account for 10% of new car sales by 2020.

Valentine de la Celle, a 30-year-old Parisian mother of two, does not own a car. "We are doing building work at home at the moment and to take things to the tip I would have to hire a car, which is difficult," she told Reuters.

"But the scheme needs to be quick and simple, otherwise people will not use it." Like the Velib cycle-hire scheme, Autolib’s pricing structure encourages people to rent vehicles only for short journeys. "We are not here to compete against traditional car rental businesses," said deputy mayor Annick Lepetit.

By José Santamarta, www.autolib.fr/