e2 transport, Ep. 2 "Paris: Velo Liberte"

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Paris' ambitious public-private V?lib' bike initiative encourages residents to forgo cars for bikes and public transportation. In the process, the program has fostered a unique popular culture, complete with its own language, jokes and pick-up lines. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has undoubtedly ... taken heart: Its success has inspired cities like Rome, San Francisco and London to begin adopting similar programs of their own.
  • Runtime: 27 minutes
  • Original air date: December 02, 2008
  • Network: PBS
 
  
 
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2. Paris: Velo Liberte
  December 2, 2008
Paris' ambitious public-private V?lib' bike initiative encourages residents to forgo cars for bikes and public transportation. In the process, the program has fostered a unique popular culture, complete with its own language, jokes and pick-up lines. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has undoubtedly taken heart: Its success has inspired cities like Rome, San Francisco and London to begin adopting similar programs of their own.
 
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Episode 2, "Paris: Velo Liberte"
Synopsis: Paris' ambitious public-private V?lib' bike initiative encourages residents to forgo cars for bikes and public transportation. In the process, the program has fostered a unique popular culture, complete with its own language, jokes and pick-up lines. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has undoubtedly taken heart: Its success has inspired cities like Rome, San Francisco and London to begin adopting similar programs of their own.
Original air date: December 2, 2008
Runtime: 27 minutes
ASIN: B002U02YGG
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,304 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
e2 Season 5
Synopsis: e2 is a critically acclaimed, multipart PBS series about the innovators and pioneers who envision a better quality of life on earth: socially, culturally, economically and ecologically. The series explores attainable solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges, and its stories are culled from a variety of fields including design, energy, transport, water, food and urban development.
Season year: 2008
Network: PBS
ASIN: B002T3C9BE
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3.0 out of 5 stars (1) $35.99
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3.0 out of 5 stars A Rose-Colored View, October 11, 2011
This review is from: e2 transport (Amazon Instant Video)

The eČ series episode on the Paris Vélib system is extremely upbeat about the prospect of integrating bicycle traffic with cars and pedestrians. When the show first aired in 2008, the cheap bike rental system was less than two years old. Now Vélib is well-established, but there are still problems, which the show downplays or ignores.

They say nothing about the vandalism that leaves many of the bikes destroyed or in need of extensive repair. They do feature a floating repair shop, but leave the impression that the repairs are mostly for routine maintenance. Today's New York Times Green Blog observed that it is not unusual to find every bike unusable at any given Vélib station.

According to this eČ episode, the worst thing is that people like to ride the bikes downhill, but few ride them back uphill, making it necessary to haul bikes uphill with a tractor so that the bikes are well-distributed throughout the city. Meanwhile the bicycle stations are turning into trendy meeting places for Parisians and tourists, according to the Paris officials interviewed.

JC Decaux, an outdoor advertising company, underwrites the Vélib project in exchange for permission to scatter more than 1,600 billboards all over Paris. There are no interviews with Parisians who think that the ads are an eyesore.

Still, finding new ways to make it easy and cheap to get from one place to another is important, as is replacing transport that makes the city unpleasant (belching buses, gridlocked city centers). Check out the London: The Price of Traffic episode for a more even-handed look at how a big city is tackling the traffic problem. Car traffic in central London has been reduced by charging a congestion fee. Pedestrians and bicyclists love the increased space the reduction in car congestion has made possible, but the interview with the cranky cab driver reveals that not everyone is a fan.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Beautiful to watch, September 8, 2011
This review is from: e2 transport (Amazon Instant Video)
A short video about the shared bike system in Paris, the Velib, encouraging Parisians to use them and public transit. I am doing the same thing lately, in Charleston, SC and in Charlotte, NC. I try to take public transit when I can, minimizing the use of the car. It opens another world for me as an artist, and involves me in a whole new community of fellow citizens. It is wise for earth. Watch this!
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