Creating a cyclists’ paradise

Mobility Week is devoted to promoting sustainable transport so as to combat climate change. With zero carbon emissions, cycling is regarded as one of the best alternatives to the car.

Lyon, France’s second biggest city, is becoming a model for promoting the use of bikes. Lyon calls its system "vélo’v" - which loosely translates as ‘bike town’, or ‘bike love’ depending on where you come from.

Set up in May 2005, Lyon’s vélo’v scheme now boasts 3,000 silver and red bikes and 250 bike stations. There is an average distance of 300 metres between each of the stations. At present Lyon has around 300 kilometres of cycle lanes, which will grow to around 500km by 2010.

In 2007 another batch of 1,000 bikes will be introduced and another 100 stations added to the network.

Subscribers to vélo’v have the choice between a one-year subscription for €5 and a seven-day subscription at €1. The user also has to pay a €150 deposit which is supposed to ensure that bikes are not stolen.

The bikes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Jawdath Jabbour, a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Lyon, uses vélo’v frequently, both day and night, for example to return home after he has been out for the evening.

In addition to the subscription, the 56,000 subscribers also pay each time they use a bike. The first 30 minutes are free and an hour costs 50 cents or €1, depending on the subscription.

Jabbour gives a student take on the pay-per-ride. "It’s really easy to use a vélo’v bike in Lyon and if you know that your journey is going to last more than 30 minutes, you can return your bike to the nearest station after about 20 minutes and grab a new one, so you don’t have to pay."

The whole vélo’v system is financed by JCDecaux, one of the world’s largest advertising companies. JCDecaux won the tender for a contract in Lyon and was given the right to sell the city’s advertising space: 2,000 bus and tram shelters and 600 pieces of street furniture. Their contract in Lyon is for 13 years. In return, the group is responsible for maintaining the whole vélo’v network.

Each bike costs around €3,000 to maintain each year, but JCDecaux refuses to give any details on the total costs of the project.

Similar efforts have been made across Europe to promote urban bicycling, but not always with as much success. In Amsterdam, three different projects have already been carried out, the first ones failing because people were running off with the bikes. The same thing happened in Vienna in 2002 when half of the bikes disappeared after two weeks. The new system in Vienna seems to be working, two-thirds of it is controlled by JCDecaux. JCDecaux has similar projects for other European cities, many of which have been impressed with vélo’v and have sent delegations to Lyon to seek inspiration. The Brussels ‘Cyclocity’ will be inaugurated during Mobility Week, that is, 250 bikes and 23 stations. (see below).

Marco Danzi, from the European Cyclists’ Federation, explains that "the formula uses technological developments to offer a step beyond traditional bicycle rent". The bicycle scheme in Lyon has managed to survive so far thanks to its hi-tech security microchip system, which exchanges information with a control centre each time a vélo’v is returned to a station. The bikes are constantly being improved. They are equipped with an alarm system, they have three gears, which is enough for an urban cyclist on flat ground, and they are adjustable to fit shorter or taller riders.

The number of cyclists has increased by 44% between 2005 and 2006. In a survey, the urban community of Lyon showed that the quickest way to get from one place to another was in the following order: roller-skates, bike, metro, car and bus.

Nevertheless, Lyon’s vélo’v has become so popular that users now face long queues at some of the stations.

Mobility Week is devoted to promoting sustainable transport so as to combat climate change. With zero carbon emissions, cycling is regarded as one of the best alternatives to the car.