Paris’ Electric Autolib Hire Scheme

Earlier this year I wrote about the plans that Boris Johnson has for turning London into one of the main centres for electric cars. There are currently only 150 charging points for electric cars in London but by 2013 Boris Johnson wishes to increase this with a further 1,159 charging points. This is a significant and welcome increase, but Paris has gone one step further.

The first weekend in October has seen the launch of Paris’ bubble-shaped electric car scheme, known as Autolib. The £202m project [1] was devised by the city’s mayor Bertrand Delanoe and is modelled on the very successful Velib scheme. As reported earlier this year, there were concerns that the new bubble car scheme may be halted in its tracks by a legal challenge from car rental firms, including Avis and Hertz, who argued that city hall had organised unfair and publically subsided competition [2]. However, the scheme has now been launched, starting with just 66 cars and 33 rental stations [1]. By December 2011, the scheme will operate fully and by the end of 2012 there are expected to be more than 1,000 stations and 3,000 cars. Electric cars can reduce your carbon footprint and reduce the amount of energy you are consuming.

The Autolib scheme works very much like the Velib scheme, as customers can pick up one of the electric cars at stations around the city to use for short journeys and deposit it at any of the battery points [1]. The cars can travel up to 250km before they need to be recharged [3]. All the customer needs to use one is of course a driving license. The cars can take up to four people and are powered by a lithium-metal polymer battery [1].

Car manufacturers are researching the enthusiasm that could be generated around the use of electric cars, and the concept of renting one for a short period of time. As Morald Chibout, General Manager of Autolib said, “We want to persuade people to shift from the concept of owning a car to that of using a car.” It is hoped that the new Autolib scheme will illustrate to people that what matters is not necessarily owning a car but having access to one when they need it. Judging by the success of the Velib scheme, Autolib should do very well and take Paris into a new era of electronic cars and sustainable transport.