Angers VeloCité could soon enlarge its offer in bikes rental system

Credit Picture : Angers city

Angers city may change its policy regarding the rent of bikes. In front of the Saint-Laud railway station, works are under way. Soon, tens of automatic rental stations, very similar to those of the Paris Velib, will be available for travellers arriving in town.

Up to now, there was only a rental system in Angers. It was based on a contract between the city and the user. Once signed, the biker can use the cycle from a week till four months. The contract can be renewed twice. There is no deposit. If the equipment is damaged or stolen, the user will have to finance the repairs (We'll see). The bikes are only rented to individuals whose home or work is located in Angers. The main critic about the system is an inhabitant (who pay local taxes to the city) can take advantage of that only once in his lifetime. So the most frequent beneficiaries of the bikes are foreign students living in Angers for a few months.


On the opposite, visitors coming to the city, for business or leisure, fueling money in town, didn't benefited of such opportunity. According to the velib device, users need to take out a subscription, which allows the subscriber an unlimited number of rentals (Subscriptions can be purchased per day, week or year). The number of Angers VéloCité bikes is about 2 400 unities.