London Mayor Ken Livingstone is looking into the possibility of introducing a public bike hire scheme along the lines of one in Paris to promote more sustainable forms of transport, he said Thursday.
"I have seen the Paris Freedom Bike scheme and discussed it with the Mayor of Paris (Bertrand Delanoe). It clearly works and is highly popular," he said in a statement. "I have asked transport officials in London to study the Parisian and similar schemes in order to draw up proposals for a scheme which would meet the needs of London."
Livingstone, who introduced the controversial congestion charge road pricing scheme for vehicles to enter central London, is keen to promote cycling in the British capital. He said bike use was up 83 percent since he was elected.
The "Velib" scheme in Paris has 10,000 bicycles at 750 hire points every 300 metres around Paris, with plans for 20,000 bikes at 1,400 hire points by the year end. The bikes are available for hire at any time of the day or night after lodging a 150-euro deposit. The first half hour is free, with prices rising to one euro (70 pence, 1.4 dollars) for every extra half hour. Livingstone said cycling gs and other stakeholders such as municipal councils would be consulted before the scheme is introduced.