Ile de France rental services and useful apps

Cycle Now: Vélib, Vélo’v, Nextbike

Live-service bicycle rental: applications to know

Since 2020, the rental of self-service mechanical or electric bikes has literally exploded. A plethora of agglomerations offers their own service in France and in the world: what applications should be known to access one two easily and quickly ? Here is our selection.

Today, a large number of cities has set up a self-service bicycle rental service, to give its inhabitants the opportunity to move differently and more ecologically. If these platforms are generally deployed by the town hall, others are propelled by private companies.

The fact is that bicycle is gradually imposed as a lasting alternative which tends to perpetuate. What are the main applications to know to rent a self-service mechanical or electric two-wheeler ? This is the whole object of this guide. Let us specify all the same that all the cities of France with such a service do not necessarily have a dedicated application.

Vélib ’: the classic among the classics

Yes, Vélib ’Métropole only concerns the French capital and its small crown, which still corresponds to 6.6 million inhabitants in total. But this service is simply the reference within the Light City, despite the regular technical problems encountered by users.

With Vélib ’Métropole, you will have access to green mechanical bikes and blue -colored electric bikes to move from point A to a lower cost. The subscriptions are indeed very cheap: the V-Libre package is for example free, but invoice up to 1 euro a use exceeding 30 minutes with a mechanical cycle.

Vélib ‘(official app)

The most expensive subscription costs 8.30 euros per month, and gives you free access to a mechanical velib for 1 hour. For an electric machine, the first two trips are free for 45 minutes, but the third is billed 1 euro. This is a small change made by Velib ’since August 1, 2021.

For less diligent users, 1 or 7 days pass are made available to them. Vélib ’today is 1,300 stations and more than 12,000 bikes in circulation.

Jump (Uber/Lime): the practical but more expensive alternative

If Jump is initially the fruit of Uber’s work, its activity has since been absorbed by the specialist in electric scooters Lime, partner of choice of the Californian group. The duo has decided to strengthen the highlighting of the service by offering a rental of Jump bikes both on the Lime and Uber application. Bikes are recognizable by their red graphics charter.

Jump two-wheelers are real bikes in free-floating :: Conversely of Vélib ’, no station is allocated to them. You will therefore find them park on the sidewalk in completely random places, indicated via a geolocation system directly available on the aforementioned applications. Calculated at the minute of use and unlocking costs, prices are more expensive than the Vélib ’Métropole service.

bicloo, bicycle’v … your city may have an application

Because it is not only Paris in France, other major cities in France also have their service. This is the case of Nantes and his commune Rezé with Bicloo, made up of 120 stations and 1230 bikes. Several formulas are offered to you: a free package does not charge you after 30 minutes of use, and other paid packages only cost between 2 and 36 euros according to your needs.

In a city on a human scale, getting on a bicycle and leaving your car makes even more sense. It is simply necessary that dedicated infrastructure (cycle paths, in particular) are indeed available.

You can also take the direction of Lyon, where the Vélo’V service gives access to 4000 bikes dispatched on 348 stations. Like Vélib ’Métropole and Bicloo, a package system that will adapt to your use has been deployed by the city. A long -term offer is even offered to enjoy a personal bicycle bike for one, two or three months – or even a year with a special formula – from 60 euros per month.

So remember to check if the self-service rental service of your city offers a mobile application, whether it is simply to find terminals around you or outright to unlock a bike.

Cycle now: to find your happiness all over the world

Cycle now is a small encyclopedia in its own. This application lists several hundred cities around the world where a self-service bicycle service is located. From France to Brazil via Poland, Cyprus, New Zealand, the United States, Germany or Mexico, to name a few, the four corners of the planet are represented.

Cycle Now: Vélib, Vélo’v, Nextbike

Here, there is no question of renting a machine, but of checking if a particular service exists in an agglomeration. If this is the case, the card then displays the geolocation of the terminals and the number of bikes available. Practice, in the event of a trip to sometimes unsuspected cities, to find your happiness on two wheels.

Want to join a community of enthusiasts ? Our discord welcomes you, it is a place of mutual aid and passion around tech.

Ile de France rental services and useful apps

The self-service bicycle services have multiplied in recent years in Paris, in particular thanks to the creation of many cycle paths in the capital. Between the best known services and start-ups that come to set up on this promising market of soft mobility, the offers are rich and versatile.

Many young companies also offer smartphone applications for simple and quick management of your urban trips.

We help you take stock of the bicycle rental services connected to the Ile de France.

Velib ’, the essential

Vélib ’Métropole, formerly Vélib’, is a self-service bicycle system available in Paris. The service offers conventional (green) and electric bikes (blue), rechargeable in station. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How much does it cost ?

4 packages ranging from € 3 to 20 € depending on the duration (from 45 minutes to 3 days)