Paris agrees deal for electric cars

PARIS has signed a deal to have 3,000 Autolib’ electric hire cars on its streets by the end of next year, with 1,000 parking and recharging stations in the city and suburbs.

The mairie is working with Bolloré, makers of the BlueCar, which is already in service in Antibes with 10 cars and La Rochelle with 50.

The 3.65m long three-seaters are virtually silent, produce no pollution and give off no CO2, but cost more than conventional-fuel cars.

Initially they will cost €15 per month subscription, with a €5 per hour charge. Parking at the charging station is free.

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë has said the new scheme will revolutionise transport in the city.

Nice is also planning its own electric car service in March, with 51 vehicles and 17 charging stations. This will rise to 210 cars and 70 sites by 2012. One peculiarity of the Nice system is that cars must be returned to their original charging station, whereas, in Paris, drivers can use any available site.

Tests show that the autopartage car-sharing scheme cuts town traffic, with one Autolib’ replacing between four and eight private cars.

The Autolib’shave a range of 250km in urban use and a maximum speed of 130kph, although higher speeds will cut the range. Performance is from 0 to 60kph in 6.3 seconds.

The Autolib’ scheme will create an independent means of transport where people will not need to own a car themselves. It will also show users the advantages of electric cars and lead to increased private sales.

Car hire giant Hertz is also looking to launch its own electric vehicle-sharing scheme.