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Paris car sharing service launches with 250 EVs

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by CHARGED EVs Mag, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. CHARGED EVs Mag

    CHARGED EVs Mag New Member

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    Car sharing services, which allow drivers to rent vehicles for a few hours at a time, are popular in Europe’s cities. They’re a natural fit for EVs, because most users will drive only short distances, the cars can be recharged at the central pick-up/drop-off locations, and of course EVs reduce air and noise pollution in crowded megalopoli. A service called Car2go put 300 Smart fortwo EVs on the streets of Amsterdam in November, and car sharing services in Germany and Switzerland have also begun phasing in EVs.

    Paris will be the next city to see the light, as car sharing service Autolib’ powers up today with a fleet of 250 BlueCar EVs. The company has plans to put a couple thousand more EVs into service over the next two years. Autolib’ is organized along the lines of the successful bicycle-sharing service called Velib’. Users can sign up for a daily, weekly or yearly subscription, make reservations online, and pick up the cars by simply swiping a card. Autolib’ has installed a network of 1,200 charging stations all over the Paris metro area, which are also available to private EV owners for a yearly fee.

    The BlueCar, built by a joint venture of Italian car designer Pininfarina and French conglomerate Bolloré, debuted at last October’s Paris Motor Show. The five-door hatchback uses an innovative lithium metal polymer battery, and has a range of about 155 miles.


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    #1 CHARGED EVs Mag, Dec 5, 2011
  2. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Here in the US and the UK, there is a service called Zipcar, which seems to be doing pretty well. They operate a fleet of Prii here in the San Francisco area, and different cars in other areas. They were given the first Prius Plug-in prototypes.
     
    #2 Rebound, Dec 5, 2011
  3. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Hmmm it'll never catch on once the initial Government funding runs out.

    You collect and drop off the car by swiping a card? OK, what if there was already damage on that car? Who or where do you report this? What happens if it gets damaged after you drop it off but before the next guy picks it up? Nah, this will end in tears.
     
    #3 GrumpyCabbie, Dec 5, 2011
  4. dabize

    dabize New Member

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    In Paris, they have a nice grab and drop rental service for bicycles - you see the bikes everywhere.

    I'll bet they see the Smart EVs as a logical extension of this (which it is).

    You may be right about the damage issue, but I'll bet it can be arranged so that anyone trashing the car can be identified.........the next user will report it before they touch the thing anyway.

    Bet it can work in Paris, which is full of Smarts (not too many Prii, though).
     
    #4 dabize, Dec 5, 2011
  5. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    Excellent. I'm glad to see a European city taking the lead. I hope they succeed and spread to other major cities in Europe.

    With all the time taxi drivers spend sitting in front of airports, train stations, and other places of high volume taxi service, they could be charging electric taxi cabs while waiting for customers. Perhaps some type of charging connection could be developed that would allow them to stay in line and slowly drive forward as taxis advance, while still charging their batteries. (think of a zip line - now add a power cord that moves forward along the line)
     
    #5 Rybold, Dec 10, 2011
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