The deputy (EELV) for mobility of the PS mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo did not rule out on Wednesday the resumption of public management of Vélib ', the Parisian self-service bicycle, at the end of the contract with the operator Smovengo , criticized for the quality of service.
Read alsoVélib': audit in sight on repeated malfunctions
“At the end of the current contract”
, that is to say at the end of 2032,
“it will obviously be necessary in my opinion to study this option”
, answered David Belliard to a question from the leader of the communist group, Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldj, which led to unusual skirmishes between these two allies of the mayor PS Anne Hidalgo.
Eau de Paris, which the City of Paris took over in 2010,
"is the very example of a management takeover which only brings positive results"
, underlined David Belliard, for whom it will be necessary to
"study whether Vélib ' could follow this same path
.
“Months sometimes years” for a recovery
A recovery in public management
"takes months and sometimes years"
, however warned the elected environmentalist to rule out any early breach of contract.
"It is estimated that the interruption of service will be at least eighteen months if we decide to go into management today, not to mention that breaking such a contract would not be insignificant for the finances of the SAVM (Syndicat Autolib 'Vélib' Métropole) and therefore of our city
,” he added.
If
"the quality of service that we have set ourselves is not yet there"
, admitted David Belliard,
"we cannot say that it was better before"
Smovengo, qualified as a
"low-cost
by Nicolas Bonnet-Oulaldj
.
The City's objective
“is first of all to operate the Vélib', and to make it work well”
, insisted David Belliard, aiming for a
“real improvement in the quality of service in the coming months”
.
To read alsoVélib' extends without radiating as in its finest hours
Four years after a nightmarish handover between the Smovengo consortium and JCDecaux, the incumbent operator, with stations under construction or closed for months, the service is still criticized by many users: unusable or defective bicycles, faulty electric assistance, stations empty or full... So much so that the elected representatives of the SAVM expressed at the end of January
"their persistent concern"
vis-à-vis the service.
In response, the president of Smovengo Stéphane Volant presented a series of investments for 2022, including 4,000 new electric bicycles and a plan for 2.7 million on maintenance and regulation, with the hiring of 35 additional technicians.
