PARIS – Baby, you can drive my car. And you. And you.
After its successful bike-sharing program, Paris is moving into higher gear, preparing to lend 3,000 electric cars across the City of Light to fight air pollution.
City officials on Thursday chose a bid by French billionaire entrepreneur Vincent Bollore to run Autolib’, a new automobile-sharing program modeled on Paris’ successful three-year-old bicycle-sharing program, Velib’.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said the service – which is to begin in the city and nearby suburbs by the end of 2011 – will make Paris the first major city with a car-sharing program of its size.
Groupe Bollore, an industrial conglomerate, beat out two rival bidders after a yearlong selection process.
The four-seat “Bluecars” — so called for their color — developed by Bollore are to be positioned at 1,200 stations in metropolitan Paris and will be available around the clock. Users, including tourists, must have a valid driver’s license and pay a subscription fee to borrow one of the vehicles.
An annual subscription will cost $16 per month, but daily and weekly options will also be available. A $335 security deposit will also be required. The cars can be reserved in advance and returned to any station.
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