Also discussed here: Autolib
And here: Paris Tests Short-Term Rentals of Electric Cars (David Jolly, New York Times, Oct. 3, 2011)
And here: Autolib: Paris' Electric Car Sharing Plan (Bloomberg Businessweek, Aug. 7, 2009)
You have to give Paris credit for innovation after reading today’s article. After the stunning success of its bike sharing program,Velib, comes Autolib, a program using electric cars for short trips. As anyone who has visited France in recent years can tell, cities there –unlike in the USA and Canada- are preparing for the switch to electric cars by building a charging station system on almost every block in the major cities. This paves the way, so to speak, for initiatives like this and the more rapid conversion of vehicles from more polluting models. Car sharing itself reduces the number of vehicles on the road by 5 to 1 or more.
Key Quotes:
“Paris is launching its first car-sharing project as it aims to clear its traffic-clogged boulevards”
“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.. 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 vehicles will be available for hire at 33 charging stations.. Officials hope to have 3,000 of the zero-emission, four-seater Bluecars on the streets and 1,000 charging stations in Paris and surrounding cities by the end of 2012”
“Electric vehicles..consume 30 percent to 50 percent less energy per mile driven than traditional internal-combustion vehicles”
“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”
“Advocates say the system would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tons a year while improving traffic congestion as fewer Paris residents would need to own cars”
“French newspaper Le Parisien pegs the price tag at $14 million to build some 1,400 self-service rental and recharging stations around Paris and adjacent suburbs”
Related articles
- Electric Car-Sharing Schemes - Getaround Gives Deals to PlugShare Members (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
- Autolib: the new car-sharing scheme that could put Paris streets ahead (guardian.co.uk)
- Silent, solid and speedy - the latest revolution to hit Paris (independent.co.uk)
- Autolib' (daysontheclaise.blogspot.com)
- Electric car scheme launched in Paris (eta.co.uk)
- Electric cars for hire in Paris (bbc.co.uk)
- Are Bike Rentals a Success? Depends Who You Ask (green.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Bubble car jolt for Paris electric car-share scheme | Reuters (exitlanguages.wordpress.com)
- Bubble cars to provide jolt in Paris (bottomline.msnbc.msn.com)
- Paris Rolls Out a Fleet of Rentable Electric Runabouts [Cars] (gizmodo.com)
- Autolib: the new car-sharing initiative that will put Paris streets ahead (iryanpereira.wordpress.com)
- EV Owners Offered $50 Reward for Sharing Their Car (treehugger.com)
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