La Cite Electrique

Yet another reason to :loveya: Paris.


via MassTransitMag:



Curbside Auto Rental System Charging Up in Paris

RELAXNEWS (English)


FRANCE - A system that could see residents of Paris, France able to pick up a car from a pool of electric vehicles in their neighborhoods, whenever they need to do an errand, is coming closer to being a reality, after the announcement of a governmental scheme to oversee the realization of the curbside rental program, according to US journal Business Week on August 11.

If completed, Paris would be the first major city to institute such a scheme. The program is known as "Autolib," a hybrid of "automobile" and "liberté" (French for "freedom"). The plan is for an automobile version of Paris's widely emulated bicycle rental scheme, known as "Velib," but would maintain that plan's focus on being environmentally friendly by making the Parisian fleet consist solely of all-electric vehicles. Under the current outlines, 2,000 electric vehicles will be made available for use in Paris, with 2,000 gasoline-powered cars for use in the suburbs. Nearly 1,400 self-service rental and recharging stations would be built. Launch is slated for the end of 2010, but city officials have publicly estimated delays until mid-2011. The Nissan Leaf is currently the only major all-electric car with a major release in 2010, to be followed by an electric vehicle from French automaker Renault in 2011. German manufacturer Daimler currently has a pilot program in London of 100 battery-powered Smart cars offered for monthly lease. Autolib would function a bit like a car-share and a bit like the ubiquitous Velib program, through which participants rent a vehicle without reservation through the use of a credit card. Autolib would require pre-registration, as a valid driver's license would be necessary. City officials project the cost of a renting a car for a half-hour to be between (EURO)4 to (EURO)6, on top of a monthly subscription fee of around (EURO)20, according to Business Week. Each auto stand would feature recharging posts for the electric vehicles, which generally take 30 minutes to recharge to 80 percent capacity and six to eight hours for a complete recharge. An electric vehicle normally has a range of around 160 kilometers, making them unsuitable for long trips but perhaps fine for errands around the city. The program would be a cooperative endeavor between public and private industries. Bids for the contract are not finalized, but according to French newspaper Le Parisien, there is interest from disparate groups such as Avis car rental, French national railway company SNCF, Paris transit authority RATP, French public transport operator Transdev, French utility Veolia, domestic automakers Renault and Peugeot, as well as Germany's Daimler.


http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=9398

:woohoo:

for the amount of money i will owe after the insurance company pays for the next two operations i`ve been putting off. i just figured out i owe 6500 from the last two..so that right around 12,000 i`ll owe!


an added bonus is... i could get to drive those neat little cars around paris!

Problem not solved. Not yet. But we're getting their. It's better to have the horse before the cart than nothing.


edit- THERE. Not their. Big deal. :)

You're welcome for the Friday afternoon earworm.

:evilgrin: