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Anyone whose owned a bike knows that maintenance is actually a pretty big deal (it's not difficult, but you need constant vigilance) and that should have been a

Anyone whose owned a bike knows that maintenance is actually a pretty big deal (it's not difficult, but you need constant vigilance) and that should have been a huge warning sign before Paris started putting this plan into action. Aside from that the vandalism situation compounds the problem. The class struggle aspect to it in France is interesting. I'm not sure that issue would be as bad in other regions, but surely vandalism would exist at some level everywhere. Personally I would much rather like to see governments seek an actual policy on bike storage and encourage people to buy their own bikes. As has been discussed before, in most cities there has been little to no thought put into where people will store their bikes at home or at work. I think this is a key driver why many don't see cycling as a sensible option for their commutes. Until this issue is adequately solved, cycling will be inaccessible to many.

ugh 17y ago
I know that in all big cities in Germany bikes are widely used. (We use bikes to go to places, we don’t go to places to use our bikes :) Many don’t even own a car. I cannot imagine that the bike infrastructure in Europe is really all that bad. Such rental services are only a extra. And I have read other articles that seem to indicate that such services work quite well. Nothing about the service in France, per se, but about other services.
- Tichy 17y ago
  In Germany the Deutsche Bahn (railways) has bought the provider of such rental bikes. Not sure if they actually make money or if it is just a prestige project. But they have existed for several years now. The bicycles look so special that stealing them is probably not very tempting. Vandalism might still be a problem, though.