Paris: City of electric cars?

By Meg Zimbeck
October 3, 2012
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Courtesy <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/f-r-a-n-k/359123912/" target="_blank">frankh/Flickr</a>

Following in the tracks of Velib', the wildly successful bike sharing program (that still isn't accessible to most Americans), the city of Paris is moving forward with a car sharing program called Autolib'.

By the end of 2010 (which in "French time" means mid-2011) the mayor's office is planning to deploy a fleet of 2,000 electric cars that drivers will be able to pick up and drop off at rental/recharging stands around the city. If it works, Paris would be the first major city to offer such a service, one that could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tons a year.

Urban beaches, bike sharing, support for the arts and now this? I'm honestly loving the way mayor Bertrand Delanoë puts my tax euros to use. Let's just hope that the new program doesn't inspire a freeride auto equivalent!

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