Subscription to the Vélib' package including electric bikes will increase by one euro per month.
The union of the Parisian self-service system justifies this increase by the energy crisis, the communities increasing their contribution by around 3.5 million euros.
Operating Vélib' "
costs 26% more today than in 2018
", explains Sylvain Raifaud, president of the Syndicat Autolib' Velib' Métropole (SAVM), on the sidelines of the union committee which decided on Tuesday on these tariff increases, effective in mid-May.
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The V-Max subscription will increase from 8.30 euros to 9.30 euros per month, except for the third of subscribers benefiting from social tariffs, and trips by electric bike beyond the second daily trip will cost two euros instead of one, as are the additional half-hours beyond the 45 minutes of use.
The basic V-Plus subscription, which includes 30 minutes of mechanical cycling, does not change.
“Slight improvement” in service
The SAVM thus wants to target “
what costs us the most, electricity, and the most intensive uses
”, sums up Sylvain Raifaud.
In 2021, the SAVM had already increased certain electricity-related prices to deal with the maintenance cost generated by the overuse of electric bicycles.
Subsidies from the City of Paris, the 60 member inner suburbs and the Greater Paris Metropolis will increase by 11.5%, also indicates the SAVM.
In total, “
the increase in the cost of the service amounts to 7 million euros
”, financed equally between users and communities, specifies Sylvain Raifaud.
Asked about a much-criticized service since the catastrophic handover in 2018 between the incumbent operator JCDecaux and the Smovengo consortium, the elected EELV underlines a "slight
improvement
" with the gradual arrival of 3,000 additional bicycles on the horizon of the Olympic Games in 2024.
Its objective for 2023 is "
improving the regulation of bicycles
", often poorly distributed with stations completely empty and others full.
“
In this respect, Smovengo's performance remains insufficient
,” notes the SAVM in its press release.
"
There is still a lot of progress to be made
", summarizes Mr. Raifaud who does not say he is "
not worried in the short term about the sustainability of Smovengo
".
