[sustran] New comment on There they go again, burying poor old Vélib.

[Eric Britton]

Todd,
 
You are asking fair questions. Quickly now if I may:
 
1.     Yes, those photos were taken about 09:00 in the morning on a Saturday
of a holiday week-end (a few minutes after I read the NYT piece and was
driven to action). There was little traffic and indeed the city is somewhat
asleep for the entire week-end. That's normal for Paris on such (rare) days.


2.     Two things about the up/down bike split on that day. First, the score
is a bit off from most (but not all) of my experience. When one checks into
a larger stand (25 to 50 bikes) on a normal day, there will almost always be
a couple that are down: problems with chains, flat tires . . normal wear and
tire by bikes that are being used from 5 to 12 times a day by people who are
not always so careful with them, most often out of sheer inexperience or
carelessness. I have on a few occasions found only a few bike cadavers, but
really on a few time after more than two ears of daily use. (It helps to do
your homework before you move if you have a tight schedule(see below).


3.      Second, there were fewer bikes overall on those stands that morning.
That was probably a function of the normal un-distribution of bikes that
takes place on a Saturday, with lots of bikes clustering instead next to the
main rail and regional rail stations. That's part of life with Velib. 


4.     Now one of the biggest problems that Velib or any other PBS has to
confront – bigger than the sort of sheer vandalism and theft that the NYT
was months after the fact pushing as an Einstein discovery – is to find ways
to ensure that both available bikes and open parking slots are available
system-wide. This is a real technical and organizational challenge, and if
you are interested enough check into our World City Bike collaborative at
www.worldcitybike.org and you will see more on that. The ideal situation is
the all the stands are half full (though a more standard ratio is 1.7
parking slots per bike).


5.     If you want to be sure of getting a bike, and then a parking slot for
sure, you will do well to go first to something like
http://www.parisavelo.net/ which offers a current update on the state of
play of 1218 station. For a review of the key stats on available bikes,
Parking slots available try  <http://www.parisavelo.net/stats.php>
http://www.parisavelo.net/stats.php. You can also do it all by iPhone.  (Did
someone mention that this is the 21st century?)
 
As to the "positives" of the Times story, there are some, sure, but that's
not what the reports were selling to us gullible country folks. The fact is
that the overall tone, their real "story", is derisive, sarcastic and
condescending  (and of course ill informed) – and that does not help,
Moreover, the points of correct information are available to anyone who can
combine a bit of Google with a good bit of common sense. That's not news. My
suggestion is that the reporters give the Times their money back. 
 
As to WHY the bikes are vandalized and/or stolen, get us some funding and we
will do a terrific job on that. We know the tough suburbs hands-on, where
others just refer to them as an abstraction. You gotta get out on the
street. Sure there is something going on, but ain't that just the normal
state of play. After all when you have twenty thousand defenseless bicycles
out there it's clear that anyone with a grievance is going to give them a
good beating. 
 
The bottom line is that Velib works. It's a great human project, and that
JCDecaux – like 'em or loath 'em – are doing a good job at keeping it up and
running. Maintenance is all. VERY VERY challenging and only real whizzes can
make it work. I score JCD performance with keeping the system running  as 7
on a scale of 10. (Which by the way is where I score World Streets.)
 
We need more sharing, in transport and in many corners of or daily lives.
Sharing is the path to sustainability, social justice and a planet that
deserves far better than what we are giving it.  Owning stuff is so
old-fashioned. (Give me 30 sec's at http://www.vimeo.com/6856553 or, better
yet, come to www.kaohsiung.newmobility.org  and brainstorm  sharing with us
next September)
 
Eric Britton, Paris
 
 
>From Todd Edelman, Sat 31-Oct-09 18:52
 
 
Eric, you show that 20-25% of bikes on a few stands on a Saturday morning
are not ready. How early is it? Maybe around 9.30 or 10 by the looks of the
shadows and your latitude... or earlier: There is no traffic in evidence.

I am no math whiz, but it seems easy to see how a 20-25% at any one time can
equal 80% over the whole time.

You present this partly to contrast the one - just one specific example NYT
gives in the most recent story - of a woman who has trouble during the week.

The huge cost they give per bike is probably totally erroneous, but in terms
of positives the article has many. 

So, s'il vous plait, give us some insights on these people who are
apparently destroying the bikes, and their back story - and figures. Let us
know if there is something Velib' can do to help them, if any of their anger
is related to a huge advertising multi-national being the owner... the bikes
are not "free" after all: Most people pay for them in higher prices on
consumer products, because it is well known a significant portion of the
sales price is due to advertising costs. But only some of these people
benefit directly, the ones fortunate enough to live inside the city. 

Posted by Green Idea Factory to  <http://newmobilityagenda.blogspot.com/>
World Streets at Saturday, 31 October, 2009