December 1, 2005
Bike Rental Program Peddles Smart Cards
In France, people use RFID-enabled prepaid cards to rent bicycles from 175 locations across Lyon and its suburbs. RFID Journal reports.
"Since 2000, residents in Lyon, France, have been able to use their Técély' RFID-enabled transit passes to pay bus, tramway and Metro fares. Now those same prepaid smart cards can be used to rent bikes from 175 locations across the city and its suburbs.
The city's bike-rental program—which is called vélo'v — was launched in May, and the company behind its deployment says the bikes are already being well used. "It's a big success because 30,000 persons use it, and each bike is rented 10 to 12 times per day. The system isn't expected to be profitable. The aim is not to make money, but to promote the use of the bike in the city," says Agathe Albertini, communications director at outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, based in Paris.
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