Paris begins trial of electric cars on sharing basis

Paris has started two month long trials small electric cars that is available for hire in a car-sharing scheme. The plan is called “Autolib'” and hopes to herald a new era in transportation.

The four-seat car is a electrically driven with a top speed of 130km/h (80mph) and can travel 250 km on a single charge. It is available on yearly subscriptions and costs 144 Euros. A daily and weekly subscription costs 10 and 15 Euros respectively. Additionally, every half-hour of driving costs five Euros. Autolib' parent company, Bolloré Group, hopes run 3,000 cars by next summer.

Bolloré chief Vincent Bolloré said, “We estimate that the project will be profitable from the seventh year.” The Bolloré group has so far invested 100 million euros in the project, hoping that by unclogging the streets of Paris and by giving visitors a taste of driving an all-electric car, they will create a platform for selling their technology outside of France.

The Autolib' vehicles will be constantly tracked and monitored from the operational centre, which will be staffed 24 hours a day. Tourists can use the service as long as they have a driver's license recognized in France.