Paris Autolib-style electric car share scheme coming to London
Wed 12 March 2014
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An electric car sharing scheme, pioneered in Paris and known as Autolib, is set to come to London in March 2015 according to the Bolloré Group which has won a contract from Transport for London to upgrade and extend the city's electric charging network.
The Autolib scheme in Paris has been one of the most successful in introducing the general public to electric car sharing. Autolib runs nearly 2,000 Bolloré Bluecar EVs in Paris, each of which is used up to ten times per day.
London already has a large network of electric car charging points. Bolloré is reported to have agreed to take over 1,500 of these from Transport for London and Siemens this Summer.
Billionaire tycoon Vincent Bolloré, owner of Bolloré Group said of the scheme (reported in The Guardian): "We believe it could be equally successful in London, offering people a convenient and low-cost form of environmentally friendly transport.
"Until now, the electric car is a toy of the happy few: it's very expensive and does not have the autonomie [range] of a normal car. We have designed a car that is cheap: a beautiful, real car, with four seats, but cheap."
Leon Daniels, head of surface transport at TfL, said it was "one more big step" in improving air quality in the capital, one of the most polluted in Europe.
He said: "London is in very serious danger of getting a €300m (£250m) fine from the EU for its breaches of air quality. We think electric vehicles are very much the right answer for London, and in particular when shared, reducing the total number of vehicles on our streets and drastically reducing emissions."
Rentals are expected to cost around £10 an hour, broken into 15-minute segments. Subscribers in Paris receive an electronic badge card, which unlocks the vehicle. A GPS in the car helps to navigate and find spots to park the Autolib', though availability of spaces in some areas has been a problem. Parisians can sign up for one day for free with higher hire charges, or pay a €120 annual fee, with car hire down to €5.50 for 30 minutes.
Bolloré Group is reported to be in talks with Renault SA (RNO), Europe’s third-biggest carmaker, regarding the development of electric vehicles. However, speaking at the London press conference which announced the plans, Bolloré that he’s leaving “the door open” to cooperation with other car producers.
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