Don't call them Véligo lockers anymore.
These parking spaces for bicycles, present in many SNCF stations in Île-de-France, have just changed their name to avoid confusion with Véligo Location, the long-term rental service for electric bicycles offered by Île-de-France Mobilités. (IDFM).
The new network, very soberly renamed Parking Vélos Île-de-France Mobilités, features a new visual identity and, above all, new pricing, which will be gradually rolled out throughout the region.
Fear of theft is one of the main obstacles to cycling.
And the lack of closed and supervised spaces does not encourage cyclists to leave their bikes near stations... Good news: since April 22, "free access to bicycle parking lots operated by SNCF Gares & Connexions is possible for annual Navigo subscribers , Navigo senior, Imagine R school, Imagine R student)”, announces IDFM, the authority in charge of transport.
For the other types of Navigo (day, month, Freedom +, etc.), access is chargeable: 4 euros per day, 10 euros per week or… 30 euros per year.
“This facility should strengthen train-bike intermodality”
To benefit from this access, simply go to the sncf-parking-velos.iledefrance-mobilites.fr website.
Once your profile is completed, you can take out a subscription in one of the 79 stations available, for the moment.
The use is flexible: for example, if you have to go to a specific station with your bike and pick it up at the end of the day, it is possible to reserve a space for 24 hours only.
Conversely, if you go several times a week to the same station, it is possible to take out a yearly subscription.
“This first block of 3,000 free secure places for annual Navigo subscribers is in the area operated by SNCF Gares & Connexions.
We have taken up the same logic as with free access to park and rides for motorists subscribed to Navigo.
This facility should strengthen train-bike intermodality,” welcomes Stéphane Beaudet (DVD), vice-president of the regional council responsible for transport.
Objective: 55,000 spaces in stations by 2025
This free bike locker is a promise made by Valérie Pécresse, president of IDFM, during her first term.
Access to closed Véligo car parks was then billed at 20 euros per year.
In the meantime, the regional authority in charge of transport has revised its Cycling plan upwards, in the face of the explosion of the practice in the metropolis of Greater Paris.
“Our ambition is very strong.
We plan to create 140,000 secure spaces by 2030, including the future stations of the Grand Paris Express, with a first tranche of 55,000 spaces by 2025”, lists Stéphane Beaudet.
Two new lockers with around thirty spaces have just been inaugurated in Seine-Saint-Denis, near the Gargan and Montfermeil stations of the T4 tram.
But the task ahead is immense.
Only 8,000 secure spaces are currently listed in Ile-de-France stations, mainly on the SNCF Transilien network.
In Paris stations, the few lockers available are full.
Read alsoFinding secure bicycle parking in Greater Paris: why we can hope for the end of the hassle
“Much remains to be done.
Concretely, it is necessary to multiply the current park by ten, recognizes Stéphane Beaudet.
This takes time, since discussions have to be held with each community and each parking operator.
But there is awareness and things are moving forward.
»
“The needs are enormous.
It is very important that access to these instructions is easy »
As for the Vélo Île-de-France collective, which brings together around forty associations, this overhaul of the platform dedicated to bicycle parking and this new pricing policy are seen as “good news”.
“Just look everywhere around the stations, in Paris or in the suburbs: there are bicycles hanging everywhere, on all the barriers.
The needs are enormous.
It is very important that access to these instructions be easy”, underlines Alexis Frémeaux, vice-president of the collective.
VIDEO.
How not to have your bike stolen
However, the associations regret that the projects carried out by operators and local authorities are still progressing too slowly.
“At the current rate, the objective of 55,000 places in 2025 will not be met.
We will have to prioritize, starting with the many large stations that still have no parking space for bicycles, secure or not.
We have the feeling that operators are playing for time.
And yet, bicycle parking is not wasted space.
On the contrary, it allows customers to come to the stations!
»
Avoid the effect of "bicycle-suckers"
The collective also wants a mechanism to be studied to allow rotation in the most requested lockers.
“We must try to avoid the effect of
bicycle-suction cups
, and allow a certain rotation of places, so that everyone can benefit from a location, even occasionally.
»
The collective hopes that the new instructions will meet the quality requirements to attract their audience.
Since the LOM law, bicycle parking must be set up at a maximum of 70 m from the platforms.
All future instructions must follow the specifications of IDFM, in order to provide quality standards.
“It is very important that secure bike lockers do not generate a feeling of insecurity.
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