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The Velib in Paris:33 questions

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The Velib is a rousing success. These are 33 questions you always wanted to have the answer to.

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10/05/2007
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jeremiah.vinyardhoux 24 days ago

I am a student in Paris and finally decided to use one, the experience went well. But here I am 4 days later waiting for my 150 euro deposit back! I need the cash because I'm leaving the country soon and need to close my bank account! Does anyone know about how long it takes for them to drop the 150 euro to come charge (I haven't been charged the sum yet but it keeps me from withdrawing into it at the ATM, a huge inconvenience for a pinny pinching student)?

daveepstn about 1 month ago

(Continuing the previous post:)

... Getting a bike: Each bike is electronically locked to a stand. Before you sign out a bike, browse through them and select a bike with properly inflated tires, a working seat, and a green light on the stand, and note the stand's number; you'll enter the stand number of your bike when you want to sign it out. (If you notice that your bike is broken after you sign it out, it's inconvenient to return it and get another one.) To disengage your bike from the stand, when the light on the stand flashes, pull the bike straight back (towards the street).

Riding: You must follow all traffic signals. Watch the red/green lights on the sidewalks at intersections. No one (except kids going to school) wears helmets. You can use just about any street, but on the bigger streets you ride in the same lane with buses and taxis, which is disconcerting until you get used to it.

Returning a bike: Once you find a Velib station near your destination with an open stand, you just slip the bike back into the stand until it locks electronically. The light on the stand should turn green after a moment. Then you can go to the kiosk and confirm the return. (If the light turns red instead, your return will not register. We had this problem, I think, when we tried to return two bikes at the same moment and confused the system.) Once you return a bike, you can sign another out after 5 or 10 minutes; this way, you minimize your charges (see below).

Charges: The system is clearly designed to favor commuters. (If you want to keep a bike all day, you might investigate renting one from a bike shop.) The first half-hour is free (not counting the daily charge); the second half-hour is 1 Euro; the 3rd half-hour costs 2 Euros; then the price jumps to 4 Euros per half hour. Keeping a bike for a few hours to sightsee gets VERY expensive!! The system is very economical if you ride a bike from one point to another, return it to a Velib station near your destination, then sign out another bike to ride to your next destination. Each subsequent bike you use is charged like the first ride was, with the first half-hour free etc.

daveepstn about 1 month ago

We used the Velib bike system successfully and enjoyably for our 4 day vacation, and we learned a lot. Here are our tips to use it effectively.

Signing up: You can sign up at any Velib station, for a 1-day, a multi-day (1 Euro per day), or an annual pass. (We were not able to find a way to sign up ahead of time on-line.) You will get a paper ticket with a printed ID number and a PIN you select and memorize; once you are signed up, you can go to any Velib station and enter both numbers to obtain a bike. For the initial sign-up, you need to use a European-style credit card with a chip, or Amex. We tried several of our American cards (Visa and Mastercard) unsuccessfully; finally we were successful with American Express (which doesn't have a chip but for some reason it worked!). The instructions can be read in 5 languages, including French and English. Caution: there are two display screens at the Velib station that you must read, the big upper one, and another little one below - you must read the instructions on BOTH display screens to be able to sign up! The instructions don't specify, but the credit card is inserted with the stripe down and to the right.

The Velib stations: There is supposedly a station every 300 meters. In fact, they're closer together near certain attractions, farther apart in other places, but usually a few minutes' walk will bring you to one. Each station has room to park 20 to 30 bikes; if you don't see a vertical ATM-type kiosk near the bikes, it means that those bikes can be accessed only with the annual pass. If you're ready to return your bike to a convenient station, but the station is full and has no empty stands, you can still sign in there and get an extra free 15 minutes to give you some extra parking time; the kiosk will display a map showing nearby stations and how many empty stands they have.

The bikes: The bicycles are 3-speed "beach bomber" style bikes. They are very well designed for city use, with a basket on the front for packages or a backpack, and we found them quite comfortable. Seat height is adjustable. There is a bike stand built in. There is also a cable lock built in; the cable is attached to the basket; the lock is on the frame behind the front wheel. Pants legs are fairly well protected from the machinery, so that you won't get grease marks on your clothes. There are fenders too, in case the street is a little wet.

Getting a bike: Each bike is electronically locked to a stand. Before you sign out a bike, browse through them and select a bike with properly inflated tires, a working seat, and a green light on the stand, and note the stand's number; you'll enter the stand number of your bike when you want to sign it out. (If you notice that your bike is broken after you sign it out, it's inconvenient to return it and get another one.) To disengage your bike from the stand, when the light on the stand flashes, pull the bike straight ba...

elsa10 about 1 month ago

help!!
i was in paris and used the velib´, it's great.
but when on earth will the deposit be "freed"???? i need it back... soon...

scribd2097 3 months ago

It'll work better with the Velib 2.0.
We shall buy quickly a short subscription via internet and take several bikes with a single subscription.

The interface will be improved, see the photo with the map oriented and drive to the nearest station to find a home base or a Velib if there are no more :
http://forum-velib.xooit.com/t91-NOUVELLE-INTER...

Kparis 11 months ago

Yeah but in Paris this is not open to anyone that does not have a credit card with a smart chip on it. That immediately eliminates 99% of Americans. The reader they use can only read a credit card with a smart chip inside. What a waste for visitors there.

yoshitoma about 1 year ago

This is great. I have had many of these specific questions about how the French bike-sharing system works. The city of San Francisco is considering something similar to this; it sounds like most of the bugs have already been worked out in the Parisian program.