Thefts Plague Pioneering Paris Bike Program

Thieves, daredevils give fleet of rental bikes a rough ride

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 10, 2009 4:17 AM CST

(Newser) – Paris’ widely copied self-service bike rental program has had a much rougher ride than planners bargained for, the Daily Telegraph reports. Almost 8,000 of the 20,000 bikes originally supplied through the Vélib project have been stolen in the past 18 months. Many others have been vandalized or damaged by daredevils trying out stunts in a new craze called "Vélib extreme."

"We underestimated the degree of damage that they would suffer," acknowledged the marketing director of the company that agreed to provide the bikes in return for a license to run the city's billboards. With 1500 of the bikes needing to be repaired or replaced daily, the city has agreed to shoulder some of the costs—and still plans to expand the program.

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Cyclists stop at a bicycle station in Paris, Monday, Aug. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Sawyer)

A technician fixes a bicycle at a City Hall station in Paris, Monday, Aug. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Michael Sawyer)

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe sits on a bicycle as he launches Velib in Paris, July 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux)

A passerby asks information of a Velib' employee, left, at a Velib station in Paris, June 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

Men examine new bicycles known as Velib in Paris, Saturday, July 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)

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Parisians cycle Velibs around Montmartre. (pourave)

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Thefts Plague Pioneering Paris Bike Program