Velo Toulouse Bicycle Rental Program part 2
This is part 2 of the series about the Velo Toulouse Bicycle Rental Program. What do you have to do to actually get the bicycle? I have seen the racks but how do I do it?
To take a bicycle
Go to the rack with your subscriber card or your carte bleu, this is your atm bank card, and follow the instructions to the screen. Subscribers of long duration pass their subscriber card of over the reader, something you get when you sign up for a forfait or contract. Type your confidential code and choose your bicycle. The bicycle unlocks and you are set. Subscribers of short duration must pass their carte bleu over the reader, type your confidential code, atm code, and your user number and choose a bicycle. The bicycle unlocks and you are set. It is automatic and no other interaction occurs. It is very quick and you don’t even need to speak French, although reading the screen could be tricky, but once you do it a few times you know how to do it.
To drop your bicycle off
Bring your bicycle to a rack. Attach your bicycle to the rack. When you hear the 2 beeps it has been confirmed that your bicycle was returned. You are all set.
If the bicycle will not attach and you do not hear the beeps call 0800 11 22 05 of Monday through Saturday of 8 a.m. to 18 h to report the problem. They will advise you about what to do next.
I checked into Sam’s information on Rennes, and she is correct. Rennes did start a bike rental plan in 1998 as part of a move to improve biking safety and it was so successful they continued. But if you’re looking for info on the web, they usually only mention Paris and Lyon (I’m not sure why except possibly they have the most bikes available). I even found a reference to an attempt in England that was aborted after all the bikes were stolen on the very first day of service.
Sam 1
Bob 0
Bob admits he’s wrong
Sam 1
Bob 0.5
Sorry Bob.
Since every last detail that Sam told me about getting my VISA, carte de sejour, etc has turned out to be flawless information I had to side with her.
Sam, when will the dollar not suck?
Ha! I wish I knew Owen. Between the exchange rate and French taxes, I’m currently only netting about 25 cents for every dollar I’m paid. Yikes!
And no prob, Bob. Maybe they don’t mention it because outside of France, not that many people have ever heard of Rennes, but most know Paris & Lyon???
That’s mainly why I took the job I took, just to start making some money in Euros.
Concerning the discussion about the cities hosting the bicycle renting programme in France: I have been to Marseille in December 2007 and saw such bicycles there as well. The bicycle stations looked pretty much the same, just with a small difference - the bikes were white-blue, not white red like in Toulouse. However, I have no idea when Marseille started renting bikes.
I wonder if all the cities have the same bikes but with different colors? anyone know?
I’m not certain, but from the pictures I’ve seen, they all appear to be the same model. Did Toulouse provide their own? In Paris they made a deal with an advertising company; in exchange for the bikes, they allowed the ad company to put up several large billboards.
These bikes are different from the ones the city used to rent. I’m going to rent one soon. I’m going to try to use it for less than 30 minutes. If I rent one and then return it to another rack within 30 minutes it supposedly won’t cost me. I wonder if I can do this more than once per day?
I haven’t done this yet but many people tell me they never pay for the bik because they get one outside of their apt in the morning, ride it to work, return it to a station by work, and if it took less than 30 minutes, it costs nothing. I have to try it.