Interesting article: …nytimes.com/2009/…
|||
hummmm....
Interesting figures here...
42 million rides since inception. 7,800 losses.
Isn%26#39;t that just under .02% attrition?
If you were to go out and buy one(1) bike it might cost you 300 euros, but if you are buying 20,000 wouldn%26#39;t you expect to pay much less?
Why would JCDecaux demand a 150 euro deposit if the bikes cost twice that amount.
To get a bike from the rack you need to secure it with a credit card or for those who have annual passes you need to have a prelevement on file on your checking account.
How are thieves getting the bikes? Breaking the racks? Or cheating the system with fake cards? Or picking up bikes that users do not properly return?
JCDeaux who runs the operation is not happy with the contract. Their profits are capped to 12% including advertising which extends to some 1600 billboards around the city.
The City has offered to aid in defraying the cost of lost and stolen bikes but JCDecaux who won the bidding wants the government to renegotiate the contract...
This will also affect negotiations going on in other cities and countries... hence the well placed media blitz...Corporate ploy...
|||
All valid points....and whenever I read a piece like this, the cynic in me can%26#39;t help but wonder if the a vendor isn%26#39;t seeking to re-negotiate the contractual %26#39;deal%26#39; they made to get the exclusive %26#39;franchise%26#39; to begin with....especially since this project/program has met with such resounding popularity and success. Follow the money.
|||
Did you see the video from the article?
|||
They once had 15,000 bikes - apparently there now are 7,200 left. %26quot;.02% attrition%26quot;?! Bikes are supposed to last longer than one ride! %26quot;42 million rides%26quot; sounds impressive, but it doesn%26#39;t say much - many (or even most?) of these rides are free, as the first 30 minutes of use are %26quot;gratuit%26quot;.
If you were to go out and buy one(1) bike, it might cost you much more than 300 euros. Yes, there are 100-300 euro bikes, but those are inferior China-made products. The average price of a bike (for adults) is 600-700 euro. The Velib bikes are bought from French company Lapierre (but manufactured in Hungary) and they%26#39;re certainly not %26quot;average%26quot;...
%26quot;Why would JCDecaux demand a 150 euro deposit if the bikes cost twice that amount?%26quot; Because after only one day of use, already 10 (ten) people have used it, and that amount (more or less) represents their second-hand value. And I would certainly never rent a car if you would need to pay a $30,000 deposit...
But I agree, JCDécaux is in it for the money. They want to renegociate a contract. I%26#39;m sure that French government officials are aware of this too.
|||
Hi JanToo;
With the figures supplied even with losses they logged 2,800 rides per bike.
Everyone pays at least a euro for an abonnement, some pay 5 euros for a week. Some pay 29 for the year.
Some deposits were confiscated.
Some bikes recovered.(I%26#39;d bet those recovery stats don%26#39;t make it back into the equation.)
Having grown up in the States, I%26#39;d take a Schwinn Cruiser over these Velib bikes anytime and a single Schwinn Cruiser retails for $400 today. 20,000 is quite an order, and it would be a wholesale price.
Mine lasted well near 10 years and paid for itself many times over in the daily papers I delivered...
But let%26#39;s not forget the revenue from advertising. JCDecaux bid on the project in order to secure the advertising. That is the cash cow.
I saw the video too, and if anything that was a promo for the durability of the bikes. They may have been ridden a little more extreme than the average Parisian or tourists, but those bikes weren%26#39;t being trashed and abused...
|||
Well, I ride it every day and here are a few thoughts:
I pay 29 euro per year; the first 30 minutes are no charge. In 12 days of February so far I have taken 20 trips for 3 hours 13 minutes and paid zero. Thanks to one of my frequent drop off points being above 60 meters in altitude, I also have 885 minutes of credit that is used before I am charged for overtime past the first 30 minutes. JC Decaux is not making much off of me (I paid 29 euro for an 18 month pass - normally 12 months for 29 euro, but there was an early renewal sale that I took.)
The bikes are numbered; the highest number I have seen is 27,500, so I have the idea that there are about that many bikes in service. The blantant vandalism and abuse are pretty disappointing, but that%26#39;s life in the city.
JC Decaux is indeed in a push to renegotiate, and they are probably not doing very well on the contract. The bikes and system are in excellent condition, however, and Decaux is smart to maintain the service while trying to improve their deal. The advertising on the Velib system, compared to the usual Decaux bus stop/presse kiosk space, is extremely limited, even not obvious.
The Velib system is in Paris to stay. It might not be Decaux running it, the fee structure may be modified, they may wipe out my frequent biker points, but the parking/rental areas are being expanded, there are a huge number already in place, it is being expanded to the suburbs - I think it is going to be a permanent fixture in Paris.
|||
Hi;
This is of interest:
%26quot;If you%26#39;ve read this BBC story currently making the rounds, you%26#39;d be forgiven for thinking that Vélib, Paris%26#39;s wildly popular bike-share system, has suddenly been afflicted by an epidemic of theft and vandalism that threatens its very existence. Vélib bikes have been %26quot;torched,%26quot; strung up from lamp-posts, and smuggled across borders, the Beeb reports in alarmist tones. A spokesman for JCDecaux, the outdoor advertising firm that operates Vélib, calls its contract with the city of Paris %26quot;unsustainable,%26quot; and the whole system is referred to in the past tense.
So is Vélib destined to burn brightly only to flare out after a short time? Hardly. Vélib is here to stay, according to officials and transportation experts familiar with the details of its operations. The BBC%26#39;s portrayal of a mortal threat, they say, is best understood as a negotiating ploy on the part of JCDecaux. (Note that the JCDecaux representative is the only source quoted in that story.)
%26quot;Decaux is using media sensationalism in order to obtain more money from the city of Paris,%26quot; said Denis Baupin, who as Deputy Mayor for Transportation oversaw the Vélib launch in the summer of 2007.
The basic structure of the Vélib contract works like this:...%26quot; Read more at...
www.worldchanging.com/archives/009425.html
|||
Hi
m.giroux writes %26lt;%26lt;Thanks to one of my frequent drop off points being above 60 meters in altitude, I also have 885 minutes of credit that is used before I am charged for overtime past the first 30 minutes.%26gt;%26gt;
Do you generate credit because you are returning a bike to a %26quot;uphill%26quot; station?
If so what credit do you get for each return and is that info available somewhere?
Thanks
|||
%26quot;Vous avez acquis 885 minutes de Bonus%26quot;
Les Bonus, comment ça marche ?
Le « Bonus V’+ » sera en service dans une centaine de stations Vélib’ dès le 14 juin.(13/06/2008)
Le « Bonus V’+, un crédit temps de 15 minutes cumulables, sera offert aux utilisateurs qui, ayant emprunté un Vélib’ dans une station sans Bonus, le déposent dans des stations marquée « Bonus V’+ », situées aux alentours de 60 mètres d’altitude et réparties dans les 5ème, 9ème, 13ème, 14ème, 15ème, 16ème, 18ème, 19ème et 20ème arrondissements.
Le « Bonus V’+ » est automatiquement utilisé si le trajet est supérieur à 30 minutes. Dans le cas contraire, il est conservé sur le compte de l’utilisateur puis décompté automatiquement dès qu’un trajet dépasse 30 minutes.
Liste des stations
|||
Many thanks,m.giroux....
No comments:
Post a Comment