In Barcelona (Spain) there is a similar service, called "Bicing"( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicing), which I use for goin

In Barcelona (Spain) there is a similar service, called "Bicing"( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicing), which I use for going to work and moving through the city (30 euro/year). It allows me to save above 400 euro/year on metro/underground/bus tickets, while enjoying the trips. About vandalism and bike maintenance: also there is vandalism, you can see stolen bikes parked in the middle of nowhere, some homeless using it for moving their things, etc. However, its impact, in my opinion, it's much lower that the shown in Paris. Most people in Barcelona, except some car drivers, LOVE the services, and treat the bikes with respect. Obviously, by its use, the bikes have to be repaired (tires, brakes, gears, seat clip, etc.), but the abuse is quite low. The punishment for losing a bike is 200 euro, so I asume that it is what a bike costs. As curiosity, there is a photo of the Bicing service into Joel's "The Duct Tape Programmer" blog entry (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2009/09/23.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2009/09/23.html)