Source: Zag Daily
The latest report from micromobility specialists Fluctuo reveals interesting insights into the effects of the relationships between operators and local authorities, and the role that local conditions have to play in the success of shared mobility take-up.
Paris’s Vélib’ bike share system is Europe’s most used shared mobility service, with 49 million rides recorded in 2024. London plays host to almost one-third of all dockless bike journeys in Europe at 29 million trips.
Fluctuo CEO Julien Chamussy spoke to Zag Daily about the results from the French capital: "Paris has had its public bike system Vélib’ since 2007 but, despite some initial problems when the contract was renewed and taken over by Smovengo in 2018, it has become the most used bike system in the world, outside of China.
“The success is down to the population density of Paris, but also the station density and fleet size – it’s a convenient service to use, there are always bikes available, and nearly always docking stations available to park in. It is also very cheap to subscribe, and users can get unlimited rides for less than €10 per month.
"Another factor is the political will of Paris and Mayor Anne Hidalgo to promote cycling and reduce car usage. Paris has become a dream for cyclists, and ridership is growing fast."
In a separate, earlier report, Paris was ranked as the top performing city for bike sharing in Europe. Cycling Industries Europe’s Shared Ambition report benchmarked the performance of bike sharing across 148 EU cities in 2023.
London presents a different picture, with a smaller public bike share scheme that is spread over a larger surface area. Station density is lower, which Chamussy noted could lead to the service being perceived as less convenient than Paris'.
However, in the specific case of dockless bikes, Chamussy believes the relationships which has been developed between operators and London boroughs have an important role in the success of bike share schemes.
"Dockless bike operators have been incredibly successful because they have been allowed by the boroughs of London to deploy bikes at scale. There are now more than 30,000 dockless bikes in London whereas in Paris dockless operators have been limited to 18,000 (soon to be 15,000). This has made using shared bikes incredibly convenient in London, and operators and residents are really seeing the benefit.
"London will renew its bike sharing system this year, so it will be interesting to see whether the approach to the station-based or dockless system will evolve over the next 12 to 18 months."
He went on to outline how both dockless bikes and station-based systems can work in other cities. "Both cities are proof that dockless and station-based models can work, but they both require the right conditions to be successful."
Check the Fluctuo report here.
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