One hundred million trips made with Paris’ public bike scheme Vélib

Use of Vélib has not stopped growing and the first term of 2011 (January – March) saw a record number of trips in a single term at nearly 5.5 million trips, with 2 258 174 trips registered in March alone.

Twenty thousand Vélib bikes are available at 1800 stations in the city of Paris and in 30 neighbouring districts. Between 80 000 and 120 000 trips are made per day, with just over three-quarters of the trips made using annual passes and the remaining quarter by 1-day or 7-day passes.

A number of new features have been introduced recently to the types of passes available to users as well as the way in which these are purchased. For users who wish to make their trip in 45 minutes (instead of the standard 30 minutes), a new annual pass called Vélib Passion has been introduced which costs slightly more than the standard pass Vélib Classique (€39 instead of €29). Young people and students enjoy a reduced price.

The new Vélib Express card is designed to allow users to charge their Vélib pass onto it, rather than issuing a new card each time the pass runs out. Holders of the Vélib Express card will also be able to recharge their card online. The Vélib pass can also be charged on to the Paris Smart Card Navigo. Short-term users will also be able to purchase their tickets online, thereby enabling them to avoid the queues at the stations.

Finally, following the recommendations of Vélib User Committee, the duration of a bike trip can be extended by a quarter of an hour free-of-charge should a station be full or under maintenance.