The city’s hugely successful bicycle-sharing service, Velib, is now visible everywhere with nearly 23,000 bicycles at roughly 1,800 stations. The first 30 minutes are free. Just show up at a station, grab a bike and go. Why anyone would hassle with a private bicycle here is beyond me. After a slow start, car-sharing has grown explosively. The city’s Autolib car service, operated by the French Bollore Group, is omnipresent in central Paris and environs. Bollore opened its first U.S. car-sharing service -- BlueIndy -- last year in Indianapolis. If it’s successful, other cities will follow.
Paris is becoming a prime example of a city where alternative firms of transport are starting to become more popular than travelling in a private car. Public transport, bicycles, scooters and car-sharing services are all growing in popularity and offering alternatives to traditional vehicle ownership. According to Automotive News, Paris now has about 450 miles of cycle lanes, and “pedicabs” are proving a popular option for tourists. Furthermore, bike-sharing service BlueIndy now has 23k bicycles available at 1,800 pick-up/drop-off stations around the city. Lastly, the popular Bollore Bluecar electric car share service now boasts over 4k vehicles on their platform which have access to over 6k parking places and 1085 charging stations city-wide.