Do as the Parisians Do
by Elizabeth Johnstone
When you think about innovations in transportation, you think high-tech (and fuel-efficient) cars, you think about Star Wars-esque sky links, you think better and faster than ever before. But after spending the majority of the summer in Paris, I'd go out on a limb and say that the biggest transport revolution this summer is not Renault's "nouvelle Twingo," but the bicycle.
People have been riding bikes for decades, but it seems that with the explosive urban development, it has gotten progressively more dangerous. In New York City, for example, seemingly fearless cyclists weave in and out of traffic like pros, but almost every day there's news of another fatal collision. Now, bike riding, at least in the United States, is more of an activity one does as a child or as a sport on carefully plotted trails. Most people, despite the urging of various environmental groups, have left the idea of a bike as a viable mode of transportation behind in a cloud of exhaust emitted from their SUV.
Paris, however, is bringing it back. On July 15, 2007 - while I was in the French capital - the city launched a massive self-service bicycle transit system called "Velib." This is a mix of the French word for bicycle, which is "velo" and libre, which means "free" or "at liberty." Since the launch about a month ago, there are now about 750 stations where Parisians and visitors with an appropriate credit card can rent a bicycle for as long as they need it to get around. The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, has the hope that Velib will cut car traffic in the city by 40% by 2020. The streets of Paris already make driving difficult, enough so that biking sounds like an extremely pleasant alternative. If you've ever stood right in the front of the Arc de Triomphe and watched the crazy traffic surround you like a swarm of angry bees, you understand. People play fast and loose with the traffic laws, and it's pretty darn scary.
What about the metro, one might ask. Why put in all these bike stations when there's a perfectly good public transportation system? The bicycles are more convenient when you're going a short distance, they’re less expensive (depending on the length of your trip) and frankly, the metro smells bad. A day pass for the Velib is only one Euro, a weekly pass is five Euro and a yearly is 29 euros. Then, the first half hour is free. The next half hour is 1 Euro, the next half hour is 2 Euro, then 4 euro for every half hour after that. All it takes is a swipe of a credit card and off you go. The bikes are easy to return, too, because there are literally stations throughout the city. Just take the bike to the station closest to your destination.
The best part about Velib? It works. People are using it. On the day the program launched, 13,000 people had already bought annual passes. Would a program like this, one that's clearly aimed at reducing our dependence on oil and protecting the environment, be successful in a big city in the United States? New York City actually launched a Bike-Share program in July, too, but 20 bikes in SoHo seems like such a miniscule effort compared to Paris' 10,600 spread out amongst almost all of the neighborhoods. Would Americans give up their cars or at least relegate them to the garage in favor of pedaling their way to work or school? One of the reasons why the Paris program has been so successful thus far is because of the amount of decent sized bike lanes; cars only get one or two lanes of traffic, while the others are reserved for cyclists and buses. In New York, the bikes lanes are only about four feet wide, blocked in on either side by parked cars or moving vehicles. It's dangerous enough to discourage even the most environmentally conscious.
The bicycle has really come full circle, at least in Europe. Or maybe it just never went anywhere; it's still a form of fun, sport and entertainment, but it's also a practical and economical way of getting from one place to another, day after day. In Paris, there's something a little romantic about rattling down cobble stone streets, hair messed from the wind, taking in the Eiffel Tower as you pass. But here's the paradox: at home, in the U.S., I love my car. Embracing this new-old development in the States would be a challenge that I'm not sure we’re all up to quite yet.
