Système Autolib

The Autolib' system is a follow-up to Paris' successful Velib' bike sharing scheme, which began operations in 2007. The system's electric cars are supplied by the Bolloré industrial group, as the result of a collaboration with the Italian automotive firm Pininfarina.[7] There are also plans to integrate payment for the bicycle and car hire schemes with the ticketing systems for traditional modes of public transport.[8] In May 2012, Vincent Bolloré, the head of the Bolloré group, stated that he expected Autolib' to become profitable by 2018.[9]

Bolloré Bluecars recharging at an Autolib' service kiosk on Rue du Quatre Septembre, Paris, in June 2012.

Construction of the Autolib' stations began in mid-2011, and 66 of the scheme's Bolloré Bluecars were deployed for a two-month preliminary trial period between October and December 2011.[1][10] The system entered service on 5 December 2011, with an initial fleet of 250 Bluecars and 250 Autolib’ rental stations serving the city of Paris and its 45 surrounding communities.

At the scheme's inception, car availability was a problematic issue, as more Parisians than expected subscribed to the service. Moreover, by early January 2012, up to 40 of the 250 cars in the initial fleet had been temporarily withdrawn from service to repair vandalism or malfunctions.[11][12]

By July 2012, 650 parking and charging stations had been deployed around Paris and the 46 communes participating in the scheme,[13] and by February 2013 there were 4,000 charging points.[4] The program's user base grew from 6,000 subscribers at the end of December 2011 to 27,000 in July 2012, and reached 37,000 by early October 2012, of which 13,000 had an annual subscription.[13][14][15] By mid-October 2013, the scheme had 105,000 subscribers.[3]

During 2012, sales of electric cars in France were led by the Bolloré Bluecar deployed for Autolib', with 1,543 units registered, representing 28% of total all-electric cars registered in the country that year.[16] Over 2,000 Bolloré Bluecars had been registered for Autolib' by September 2013.[3] The company's goal is to deploy 3,000 electric cars by 2013.[17] By late September 2012, Autolib's fleet reached the milestone of 500,000 rentals since its launch,[13][18] and the scheme's vehicles had been driven a cumulative total of 15,000,000 km (9,300,000 mi) by February 2013.[4] By mid-October 2013, the service had provided over 3 million rentals, with an average of 10,000 rentals per day, and with a cumulative mileage of 27,300,000 km (17,000,000 mi) since the program's introduction two years before.[3]

Name lawsuit[edit]

In December 2009, the car-rental company Europcar brought the City of Paris to court, arguing that the Autolib' name was a plagiarism and unfair competition by the city. Europcar is the trademark owner of the rental car subscription service "Autoliberté", which has been in operation since 2001.[19] The case was dismissed in March 2011 by the High Court of Paris, and Europcar decided to appeal.[20] On 30 June 2012, the Paris Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the High Court, and ruled that within a month Autolib' had to change its name because it breaches trademark laws. The ruling implies that the name must be changed on all 1,800 Autolib' cars, docking stations and subscriber cards, and also all of the scheme's advertising will have to be rewritten.[21]

After the ruling, the City of Paris and Europcar began negotiating an agreement to solve the brand name conflict.[22] In November 2012, an agreement was reached to keep the Autolib' brand name. Europcar agreed to waive the enforcement of the court decision on the condition that the City of Paris would be the owner of the Autolib brand, and in exchange for free advertising for Europcar's Autoliberté service. The agreement was signed for three years.[23][24]

Autolib' beyond Paris[edit]

In early 2013, the Bolloré Group announced plans to launch a similar car sharing service in Lyon and Bordeaux, but under a different brand name and with no cost to the cities. Bolloré's proposal is to fund the entire infrastructure, install and provide the vehicles, and cover the costs of maintenance and repairs. A formal agreement has not been signed as of March 2013. Bolloré's goal is to start service in Bordeaux by September 2013 with 90 vehicles, 40 parking stations and 180 charging stations. After these two schemes are implemented, the company plans to launch similar systems abroad, beginning with a city in Asia.[5] In June 2013, Autolib' formed an agreement with the American city of Indianapolis, Indiana, to develop an electric car sharing service there.[6]

Fire incidents[edit]

On 14 October 2013, a Bluecar was destroyed by fire while charging at an Autolib' kiosk in Paris; the fire then spread to a second Bluecar. A police investigation was subsequently conducted to ascertain the cause of the fire. According to Bolloré, the real-time telemetric monitoring system did not register a thermal runaway problem with the car's battery when the fire started. The company is attributing the origin of the fire to an external cause, probably vandalism. Bolloré reported that a total of 25 Autolib' Bluecars have burnt out since the scheme's inception, with most of the incidents certified as attributed to vandals.[25][26]

Operation[edit]

An Autolib' kiosk on Boulevard Diderot.

The Autolib’ Bluecar is available to anyone aged 18 or older with a valid French driving license, or a valid foreign license plus the international driving license, who takes out a paid subscription. Users can choose from a number of rental packages, with 30-minute fees varying from €4 to €8 depending on the rental plan. An available car can be collected for use from any rental station and returned to any other rental station. Each car has on-board GPS capabilities and can be tracked by the system's operations center.[17]

In addition to the subscription fees, Autolib' charges a variable rate for each half an hour of use, but billing for each rental is calculated on a pro rata basis, which takes into account the actual duration of use rounded up to the nearest minute (except for the first 20 minutes, for which there is a minimum charge).[27] The table below summarizes the subscription types available, the subscriptioThe

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