The Citiz carsharing network in Bordeaux -

M.BOSREDON / 20MINUTES

  • Vincent Bolloré's BlueCub service is permanently discontinued in Bordeaux after six years of activity.

  • The Citiz cooperative hopes to recover users of the service even if it targets longer trips and out of town.

  • The metropolis is in discussions with the Bolloré group regarding locations and charging stations.

You will no longer see BlueCub crisscrossing the Gironde capital.

The car-sharing model of electric cars carried by Vincent Bolloré has failed to prove its worth over time and the service is permanently interrupted in several cities in France, including Bordeaux.

If this interruption six years after its launch is "not a surprise" for Nicolas Guenro, director of Citiz, a Bordeaux carsharing cooperative, he points out that a closure in this sector is "never good news".

Bluecub and Citiz services have very different positions: electric Bluecub were used for short trips in town while Citiz cars are rented for rather long trips outside Bordeaux.

Attract young people aware of Bluecub

If Citiz expects to recover some Bluecub users, its leader also believes that many will turn to bicycles and public transport for their trips in the city.

While it will take a little time to measure the repercussions on Bordeaux carsharing, Citiz hopes for a “back-to-school effect” on registrations, in particular for the youngest, privileged targets of Bluecub.

Citiz, whose users are more than 35 years old, offers a 50% reduction on the subscription for those under 28 but the price will still be higher than that of the Bluecub service, unbeatable in this respect.

For him, electric cars are not suitable for carsharing, which is based on the principle of pooling: “it must be driven as much as possible for it to be profitable and the recharging time of the electric battery is a problem.

"

“The whole concept of Citiz is to encourage walking, cycling when possible and using a Citiz car as a last resort to reduce the number of vehicles in circulation,” explains Nicolas Guenro.

It is estimated that a Citiz replaces five to eight individual cars on the road.

".

This service is not intended to allow users to travel home to work but to meet a need for occasional shopping, leisure and business trips.

The space freed up by the coveted bluecub

Citiz takes a close look at the space freed up by the departure of the Bluecub (380 parking spaces) and in the short term, the cooperative would be interested in around fifty spaces on the road.

"We are in discussion with the Bolloré group, explains Clément Rossignol, vice-president (EELV) of Bordeaux Métropole delegate to Mobility, they have an obligation to repair but we find it interesting to have a network of charging stations and we is discussing that certain stations be removed and the others we will use them either to offer recharging services to electric vehicles or to dedicate them to carpooling or innovative mobility sites ”.

The one who is also the mayor of Bègles believes in the virtues of carsharing and intends to develop it further on a metropolitan scale.

“But the BlueCub model is very expensive, and it competes with transport and bicycles,” he says, so it's a little less relevant than traditional car sharing.

"

Bordeaux

Bordeaux: Yea!

A new car sharing service is coming to town

Paris

Paris: 179 million euros of losses by 2023 for Autolib '... that will pay the taxpayer

  • Aquitaine

  • Bordeaux

  • Vincent Bollore

  • Electric car