To avoid cluttering the sidewalks, the "E-velobleu" will be borrowed in the parking areas intended for cycling - J.Hauvel / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • Two hundred electric bikes are available in free floating in Nice, Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes, thanks to the E-Vélobleu service.
  • They are only accessible via the app of the same name.
  • Parking lots will boost the number of spaces available.

Cycling Nice can waste liters of water. To facilitate the efforts of the people of Nice, the Nice-Côte d'Azur metropolitan area inaugurated this Monday the E-Vélobleu, a rental service for electric bikes in free floating (self-service without terminal).

“When you are in the hill network, you need an electric bike, but also in summer, when you have to go to work. It's simpler because we sweat less, "explains Philippe Pradal, first deputy of the city of Nice and president of the Finance and Transport Committee. “Going down is one thing, going back up is another. These electric impulse bikes should generate new subscribers, ”also notes Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice.

60 km of range

Two hundred bikes have been put into service. To ride them, you no longer need a card like the “Vélo Bleu”. Users must go through the E-Vélobleu mobile application which allows them to unlock two-wheelers by bluetooth. With an estimated autonomy of 60 km, the e-velobleu can be used in the municipalities of Nice, Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer. Rental price: free during the first thirty minutes, then 1.50 euros per half hour.

Before that, the cyclists must pay the amount of the annual subscription, namely 10 euros for the subscribers of Lines of Azure, TER or "Blue Bike", and 40 euros for the non-subscribers. Only those under 25 are exempt from these fees.

E-velobleu, electric bike rental service in Nice - J.Hauvel / ANP / 20 Minutes

Where to park your bike

Another novelty, the electric bikes will be in "semi floating". "They will not be fixed on terminals in stations (as is the case with velobleu) but they will be accessible in bicycle parking spaces (like the hoops)", specifies Alice Bigorne, director of transport and mobility sustainable development of the Nice-Côte d'Azur Metropolis. The application helps to locate them.

With this in mind, the city of Nice announces that it wants to reach 5,000 bicycle spaces in 2020, compared to 3,360 currently. After that of the Charles Erhmann relay park (around 100 places), a second secure space was presented this Monday in Nice Thiers. Its 200 spaces, ten of which have electrical outlets, will be reserved for people with a Lignes d'Azur subscription card, provided they have activated the "bicycle parking lot" service at 10 euros per year.

E-velobleu, electric bike rental service in Nice - J.Hauvel / ANP / 20 Minutes

E-velobleu, electric bike rental service in Nice - J.Hauvel / ANP / 20 Minutes

Three other parking lots are planned for 2020-2021: one at the Vauban relay park (50 places), one at the Connexio building (100 places) and one at the future Pont Michel relay park (50 places). Following a remark made by a Niçois present on Monday, consideration should be given to setting up an additional park around the Gare du Sud. In April, two stations, each with five electric tricycles for people with reduced mobility, will be installed on the Promenade des Anglais.

Our electric bike file

What about "Blue Bikes" and free floating electric scooters?

Do E-Vélobleu and parking lots mark the decline of blue bikes, or even their disappearance? "It's possible," says Philippe Pradal. The idea is to observe the usage in real time, not to remove the “Blue Bikes” when they are used and to deploy electric impulse bikes when they are necessary. "

As for the free floating electric scooters promised when the Bike Plan was announced in October 2018, they will wait. “Today is not the project. The priority is clearly the bicycle because it seems to us to be better adapted and better regulated, ”affirms the elected official.

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