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Post by seacid on Mar 27, 2007 9:00:59 GMT 8
from the Economist.com
Paris will soon have an armada of bicycles available round the clock for public use. More than 14,000 shiny two-wheelers will be on offer this summer for a small fee at self-service stations across the city, with some 6,000 more arriving by the end of the year. Unlike bike services set up in other European cities, “Vélib” is not a free municipal service but depends on advertising, sponsorship and rental fees. In high-density, cycling-friendly neighbourhoods, stations will be set up a mere 100 metres apart; throughout the city, no station will be more than 400 metres from the next, and users can drop off bicycles at any of them. After subscribing—€1 ($1.33) for a day, €29 for a year—borrowers will get a free ride for the first half-hour, and will be charged thereafter according to the length of their jaunt. They may also rent bikes on long-term contracts. JCDecaux, a French outdoor advertising giant, won the right to operate the network in return for an exclusive contract for more than 16,000 new scrolling hoardings in the city. The project was held up for a few weeks while ClearChannel, an American company (and rival of JCDecaux), launched an unsuccessful legal challenge to the deal. JCDecaux says Vélib will cost €90m to set up (each bike is said to cost between €2,500 and €3,000) and should bring €60m in annual revenue.
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