No more battery that you carry around in your bag to use an electric Vélo'v. The entire eVélo'v fleet will be replaced overnight by 2,500 new green bicycles. Launch date: January 28, announced on Bluesky the president of the Métropole de Lyon Bruno Bernard (Les Écologues).
From now on, the eVélo'v will be recharged directly at the terminal – which therefore involved the renewal of these terminals. The electric assistance will be ten times more powerful than before and the range will be 40 kilometers. All at the price of 99 euros per year, compared to 115 currently. The youth rate will be 78 euros. For users who would like to use it occasionally, the cost of the trip will be one euro for the first 30 minutes. All completed by the establishment of around thirty new stations during the year 2025.
A small revolution compared to the old fleet of electric bikes. As revealed by Rue89Lyon in September 2023, the Métropole de Lyon had noted the failure of the previous system, which had not fulfilled its promises. Little electrical assistance on climbs, low autonomy, need to always have your battery recharged with you to put it on the Vélo'v… while the community was hoping for 15,000 eVélo'v subscribers by 2032, it does not There were only 2,800 subscribers to this service in 2023 (or 3% of users).
The Lyon Metropolis makes up for the fiasco of the previous e-Velo'v
In addition to the defects of the old eVélo'v, the various confinements had put a stop to the service. Just like its interruption between July 2021 and July 2022 in the cities of Lyon, Brussels and Dublin. The cause was a “thermal runaway phenomenon” which “led to a minor fire at a Brussels customer”, we could read in the internal note that Rue89Lyon was able to consult. Result: few customers, and a heavy Vélo'v which often remained in the station because it was not favored by mechanical Vélo'v users.
The Lyon Metropolis had to negotiate with JC Decaux, which manages the Vélo'v service, for the renewal of this system. It was until now financed by advertising space, also managed by JC Decaux, according to a deal made with the previous majority of Gérard Collomb. The change in local advertising regulations, more restrictive and wanted by environmentalists, has changed the situation. Although we do not know the details of the contract signed, negotiations between the Métropole de Lyon and JC Decaux were tough to find out who should finance this change.
A small revolution necessary for the Metropolis of Lyon. It is developing an ambitious policy in terms of cycling mobility, with the establishment of the Voies Lyonnaises network in particular, with the aim of putting Greater Lyonnais on bikes. But while it hopes for 10,000 passages per day in the Voie Lyonnaise 12, in the 12% climb of the Chemin neuf (Lyon 5e), an electric Vélo'v system accessible to all appears to be more than necessary. Even more so in a city with three hills.
