Paris Plans New Program for Public Sharing of Electric Cars

On the heels of its successful bike-sharing program, Paris has announced a similar plan for electric cars. Under the project, known as Autolib’, 4,000 vehicles will be stationed in 700 lots in downtown Paris and its suburbs. Users will be able to rent and return vehicles at any of the lots, paying for just a few minutes of driving and avoiding the hassle of parking. Part of the mayor’s efforts to reduce pollution and congestion, the program will launch in late 2009 or early 2010, though many specifics, including car cost and monitoring, have yet to be announced. The program is intended to help deter prospective car owners from purchasing a polluting vehicle, said the deputy mayor in charge of transportation, as well as helping with Paris’s parking problems. But some critics, including the city’s Green Party, say the new project might only serve to increase traffic and car dependence in the already congested French capital.