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Self-Serve Electric Cars to Hit the Streets of Paris in 2011

Where: Paris, France
December 21, 2010 at 10:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

We’ve been big fans of the Velib bike rentals in Paris for quite some time—and recently too—but now it looks like Paris is moving onto something a little bit faster. City officials are planning to start a self service rental plan for cars, but not any cars, as these rentals will be electric.

Initially the city will buy about 3,000 cars and install them all over the city in about 1,000 different places. This will come in especially handy if you need to return your car every half hour or so like you do with the Velib bikes.

The program is called Autolib, but the membership is a little different than just grabbing a bike off the city streets. Here you’ll need to pony up $15 per month to become a member of the program. The cost is then around $6.50 for the first 30 minutes, $5 for the next 30 minutes, and then another $8 for every additional 30 minutes you spend exploring the city and its surroundings. Expect things to start rolling sometime in the fall of next year.

For those who don’t call Paris home—like us—there is an option to sign up for a weekly membership for just $20. There will also be daily passes for around $13 just in case the Metro isn’t going where you want to go.

The cars can be reserved in advance over the internet, and you can even reserve your parking spot to return your car right next to the Eiffel Tower. It’s a little like Zipcar and a lot like Velib, so just expect some French quirks to hinder your experience every so slightly. You might even want to plan a little extra time to figure things out so you don’t miss your timed entry into one of the city’s museums.

Related Stories:
· Autolib [Official Site]
· Paris to Introduce Rental Electric Cars [UPI]
· How to Survive a Metro Strike in Paris: Vélib Bike Rentals [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

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