Paris has a shared and (almost) free bike transit system called Velib for picking up and dropping off bikes throughout the city. There are hundreds of stations throughout Paris with most no more than 300 yards apart. You pickup a bike, ride to your destination and drop it off. When you’re ready to move on, you pick up another bike and go on to your next destination.
I used Velib bikes to cover over 20 miles in one stupidly ambitious day of sightseeing. Using the Velib bikes is recommended; doing 20 miles in a day isn’t.
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My folding bike was available but I chose not to use it. For one thing, it was all packed up and ready for the flight back the next day. And the Velib bikes gave me the freedom to drop off a bike one place, walk around and then just pick up another. With my bike I would have had to lock it and worry about it. And I would have had to return to it. With the Velib system, I simply found the nearest station and grabbed another bike.
How does the system work? For the tourist, you purchase a 1 or 7 day pass at any of the kiosks for about $1.50 or $7.50. The first half-hour of use of a bike is free so $1.50 is all I paid to get around Paris all day. There is an English language option on the terminals although I didn’t notice or use it at first. Sign up was quick and easy. After you agree to the terms and swipe your card, you select a PIN and are then given a print out with an account number. To get a bike, enter the account number and PIN, choose your bike and remove it from the rack. To drop off, just place your bike into a rack and be sure to wait until the blinking light turns green to confirm the return.
For US tourists, an American Express card seems to be the only one that works with the system. Mastercard and Visa do not. I requested an Amex Blue card that has a RFID chip just to try these bikes and had no issues. By swiping the card, the system can charge you if you keep a bike for more than ½ hour as well as hold you responsible if you fail to return the bike ($150).
Having users sign-up makes this bike sharing system different from the free shared bicycle programs tried in various cities (Amsterdam, Portland, Cambridge). Vandalism and theft were issues with such programs. Programs similar to Velib have been started in Washington, Barcelona, Lyon and other cities.
What about the bicycles? These aren’t sub-20 pound racing bikes.
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They are sturdy and fat tired with a basket, lights, a little bell and a broad seat. A quick release permits adjustment of the seat height. My guess is they weigh about 50 pounds. You won’t be climbing Alpe d’Huez on one of these. But, if anyone would like to generously fund the attempt, I’d give it go!
They have a grip-shifter with three speeds. The top gear is good for rolling along on the level and used most of the time. The middle gear was about as low as the gearing I used to climb L’Alpe. It was good for getting those 50lbs rolling. I didn’t use the lowest gear that seemed more appropriate for stump pulling. All in all, they were quite practical and well-suited to their purpose.
How was riding in Paris traffic? No problems for me and quite enjoyable. But asking someone who has cycled in Washington, DC rush hour traffic for decades means my answer may not be applicable to you. Certainly, it was better than at home. Within the first two miles of riding on my return to the DC area, someone failed to yield the right of way to me. Nothing similar happened all day in Paris. Oh, and don’t be looking at the sites as you ride.
The on-street accommodations were also better in Paris. When there was a bike lane, it was physically separated from other lanes. This contrasts with the silly, if they weren’t dangerous, painted lines in the DC area that endanger cyclists by putting them next to parked cars and reinforce motorists ignorance of cyclists right to the road. When there wasn’t a bike lane, the bus lane was designated for bicycle use.
All the major traffic circles seemed to have designated bike lanes around them although they tended to put you with pedestrians. Being me, I usually just mixed it up with the traffic at the circles. I wouldn’t recommend that unless you’re experienced and fearless.
Were there any problems? Wear and tear is showing on some bikes, e.g. a broken shifter, soft tire, bent wheel. If the bike had a problem, I stopped at the next station and swapped for another bike. Check out the bike you are going to use before choosing and removing. Calling and reporting problems is the right thing to do but my French was not good enough to so.
While there are many stations, you still should take a map of them with you. If not, you’ll walk or ride around a bit to find one since they aren’t all on the main streets. I didn’t have one and used the map of nearby locations at each station. When leaving a bike to walk around, I’d note the location of nearby stations. On the bike, going from station to station checking the maps got me to where I was going and to a drop-off station. Inefficient but effective.
There was a station kiosk with a display that didn’t work. I could not get a bike although I had returned one there earlier. With lots of stations, I used the map and went to one nearby.
Bike distribution could be an issue although it wasn't for me. One station only had one bike left when I got there. At another, someone who wanted to return a bike had to wait until I came and removed one. I did see a truck moving bikes to a station with very few bikes so they have planned for this.
Overall, it was a great way to get around Paris and see new parts of the city. If you are touring various places in Paris and the weather is nice, give it try instead of the subway. I think you’ll enjoy it.
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