(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.