Electric Vélib' bug: 30,000 users will be compensated

Electric Vélib' users who borrowed a defective two-wheeler during the second half of December will “automatically” obtain financial compensation in the next few days.

The SAVM (Syndicat Autolib' Vélib' Métropole), manager of the Greater Paris self-service bike rental service, announced this on Wednesday in a press release, detailing the amount of compensation offered.

They will go from 3 to… 10 euros, depending on the subscription formulas taken out by the victims of the Vélib'bleues bug.

The general malfunction of VAE (electrically assisted bicycles) whose batteries remained desperately empty despite hours of charging had been revealed by the SAVM between Christmas and New Year's Day.

The company Smovengo, operator of Vélib', had confirmed it in the process by explaining that the serial breakdowns were the consequence of the severe cold snap of mid-December.

The intensive salting of the roads would have led to oxidation of the charging stations, rendering a large part of the approximately 8,000 Vélib'electric vehicles in circulation unusable.

At the end of December, the SAVM therefore asked its service provider – with whom it has strained relations due to a quality of service deemed insufficient – ​​to remedy the problem in order to restore the VAEs to working order as soon as possible.

According to Smovengo, the "corrective actions" on electric models, which represent 40% of the Vélib' fleet, allowed a return to normal from December 31.

Still according to the operator, a total of 30,000 users were affected by Vélib' breakdowns during the last two weeks of 2022. "They will benefit from compensation in the next few years, without any necessary action on their part", insists the SAVM in his press release.

But the mountain bikers concerned should not expect large refunds.

Non-subscribers, who pay for their Vélib' trips on a case-by-case basis (1 euro the first half hour for a mechanical model, 3 euros for an electric model), have already been compensated... no doubt without s notice it.

“Electric” trips were automatically invoiced corresponding to the use of a Vélib'mécanique.

Subscribers to the V-Max package (the "premium" Vélib' package at 8.30 euros per month which gives the right to two free electric Vélib' rentals per day) will be reimbursed for part of the subscription, in proportion to the duration of the period of malfunction: i.e. compensation of 3 euros which will be credited back to the subscribers' bank card.

Finally, subscribers to short-term packages (10 euros for 24 hours, 20 euros for three days) will be entitled to a refund of 50% of the amount of the Pass.

So 10 euros for the most heavily compensated.

Deploring the incident, the elected officials of the SAVM once again called on the operating company, Smovengo, to strengthen its controls on the two-wheeler fleet.

The Vélib' service, now deployed in Paris and in 60 towns in the inner suburbs, currently has 390,000 subscribers, all formulas combined.