On April 9, the city of Nice inaugurates Auto Bleue, a 100% electric car-sharing project. It becomes the first community in France to implement this system. In the Nice Côte d’Azur area, 210 electric vehicles will eventually be distributed across 70 stations. Presentation of the project…
Since 2008, the priority for Nice Côte d’Azur in terms of transport has been to promote gentle or clean energy modes of transportation. After the development of bike lanes, the implementation of Vélobleu, and the launch of the Tramway, the initiation of Auto Bleue is the latest step in Nice Côte d’Azur’s commitment to sustainable development.
An Asset for Urban Ecology
Today, 70% of European Union citizens live in urban areas. The necessary 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2020, as desired by the European Community, must be achieved through the implementation of sustainable mobility tools. This should enable everyone to change their habits and adopt alternative modes of transportation beyond personal cars.
Thus, car-sharing replaces between 4 and 8 personal vehicles. On one hand, this allows for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (30% of which in Nice Côte d’Azur are due to cars), reduction in fossil fuel consumption, noise nuisances, and urban pollution. On the other hand, it improves air quality and helps increase available parking spaces.
Implementation Details
The VENAP consortium (a partnership of Véolia Transport and EDF) has been chosen by the Urban Community as the service delegate. It will maintain the network and the fleet of vehicles. As of April 2011, the fleet will consist of 41 Peugeot iOns and 10 Citroën Berlingo Venturis. Starting in the summer of 2011, a third model, the Heuliez Mia, will make its debut.
The stations will be designed to withstand the urban environment (collisions, weather conditions, vandalism) and will be located within the surveillance perimeter of video protection cameras.
Each station will have 5 slots, with 2 reserved for owners of electric vehicles. This configuration allows individuals, especially those without a garage equipped, to access an urban electric charging point. In the same vein, Nice’s public parking lots will gradually be equipped with electric vehicle charging points.
The Cost of the Service
Auto Bleue is a service available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, accessible via the Internet or phone. After paying a membership fee of €25, users can choose between two offers. The Freedom offer costs €8 per hour, while the Frequency offer provides a subscription of €50, including a 10-hour package and then costs €5 per hour.
VENAP aims to make the pricing as attractive as possible since savings can be made on parking and fuel (Auto Bleue has a range of 80km).
The total cost of this system is €2.8 million, with half covered by the state.
