Travel Paris by Bike
Posted by Kelly Smith on Wed, Jun 09, 2010
Residents of Paris, and visitors as well, have a fleet of 20,000 bicycles at their disposal to travel the city in a more eco-friendly fashion. Mayor Bertrand Delanoe plans to build new bike paths from the city into the suburbs, to build a thousand new bike parking spots, and to allow two-way bike traffic on one-way streets in order to encourage even more biking in Paris.
The Velib rental bike program was launched in July 2007 as a way to reduce traffic in the city and to provide a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation than even the Metro offers. The program is funded by advertisers, who pay for the bikes in exchange for billboard use in the city. The system is easy enough for bicyclists to use. A weekly pass costs about $7. All rides less than 30 minutes are free, so many people are able to travel around the city without any cost at all.
Bike transportation is an excellent way to reduce gasoline usage and thus shrink carbon footprints. Many large cities have trouble with traffic and related air pollution. Many countries such as Barcelona, Geneva, Montreal, Shanghai, and Stockholm offer similar bike rental systems. Other bike sharing programs, such as in Cambridge, UK, and Edmonton, Alberta, have failed due to vandalism and theft.
Bike sharing programs have a much stronger presence in Europe compared to North America. However, cities such as Ottowa, Boulder, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Chicago, and Seattle are considering similar programs. Green tourists and green commuters who already enjoy car share schemes can look forward to even lower impact travel if these plans materialize.