ParisPourri
#124
Join Date: Jan 2007
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#126
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since i believe users must post a sizeable deposit to use the bikes i guess the bikes must have been purloined from the stands they are locked to along the streets.
Hetismij - thanks for the BBC article - and domage because it sound like Paris' Velib' program will not be around much longer.
Human nature wins out.
Hetismij - thanks for the BBC article - and domage because it sound like Paris' Velib' program will not be around much longer.
Human nature wins out.
#128
Join Date: Feb 2005
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I'm so happy to see that the "velodi" bikes in Dijon are safer and in better conditions than the Parisian ones. In the last issue of "la Gazette" (free Dijon newspaper) they said they reinforced all the bikes and they are working very well (used mostly by women between 4pm and 6pm). They are considering adding 30 more stations in Dijon.
I found this blog in English very informative, if one of you is coming to Dijon http://tsaleh.blogspot.com/2008/07/v...ke-system.html
I found this blog in English very informative, if one of you is coming to Dijon http://tsaleh.blogspot.com/2008/07/v...ke-system.html
#129
Join Date: Jan 2003
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>>since i believe users must post a sizeable deposit to use the bikes i guess the bikes must have been purloined from the stands they are locked to along the streets.<<
Hardly possible. The lock is made by a piece of half-inch thick metal sliding into a wholly-enclosed slot several inches inside the post. I have seen a bike wrenched off the post by a massive lorry trying to make too tight a turn, but your average opportunistic thief wouldn't have the tools and would give up in minutes, even if no-one else noticed them at it.
Vandalism/wear and tear sounds like a much more plausible explanation. The only kind of theft that would be explicable is if people haven't returned a bike when they get off to go somewhere, and someone else nicks it at that point. My guess is that the running maintenance cost (of sending out people to check the bikes and transfer them from A to B) costs more than was originally estimated, and that this may be a negotiating technique. We are talking about France, after all.
The obvious answer would be to up the deposit to the full replacement cost of the bike and adjust the time charges - to make it much more expensive to hang on to it for longer than an hour, say.
Hardly possible. The lock is made by a piece of half-inch thick metal sliding into a wholly-enclosed slot several inches inside the post. I have seen a bike wrenched off the post by a massive lorry trying to make too tight a turn, but your average opportunistic thief wouldn't have the tools and would give up in minutes, even if no-one else noticed them at it.
Vandalism/wear and tear sounds like a much more plausible explanation. The only kind of theft that would be explicable is if people haven't returned a bike when they get off to go somewhere, and someone else nicks it at that point. My guess is that the running maintenance cost (of sending out people to check the bikes and transfer them from A to B) costs more than was originally estimated, and that this may be a negotiating technique. We are talking about France, after all.
The obvious answer would be to up the deposit to the full replacement cost of the bike and adjust the time charges - to make it much more expensive to hang on to it for longer than an hour, say.
#130
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There hasn't been a bike lock invented that can't be broken. Ask any Dutchman about that. The Velib bikes do get stolen, as I said they have been spotted in Eastern Europe and in Africa. Because of their design they are more easily recognisable than the average bike which gets stolen and illegally exported, but they are just as likely to be stolen as any other bike.
#133
Join Date: Feb 2009
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Some French friends regularly use the French hypermarche, Carrefour, for travel plans - especially apartments all over France. So if looking for residences or flats keep this low-cost source in mind.
http://voyages.carrefour.fr/voyages-carrefour/
Carrefours are also all over the Paris region - though not right in the center but on the periphery - they are the original 'hypermarche' to me - a huge store carrying everything at great prices.
J'aime Carrefour!
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Carrefour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Carrefour group pioneered the concept of a hypermarket, a large supermarket .... relay was disrupted by Tibetan independence advocates in London and especially Paris, ... The Voorhees location now houses a Kohl's department store, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour - Cached - Simila
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Carrefour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Carrefour group pioneered the concept of a hypermarket, a large supermarket .... relay was disrupted by Tibetan independence advocates in London and especially Paris, ... The Voorhees location now houses a Kohl's department store, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour - Cached - Similar
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Paris & Ile de France Supermarkets & Grocery Shops - AngloINFO, in ...
Carrefour: Part of the national supermarket chain. ... Geant: Supermarkets with locations across Paris and Ile-de-France, with an online shopping service. ...
paris.angloinfo.com/.../paris-&-ile-de-france-supermarkets-and-grocery-shops.html -
http://voyages.carrefour.fr/voyages-carrefour/
Carrefours are also all over the Paris region - though not right in the center but on the periphery - they are the original 'hypermarche' to me - a huge store carrying everything at great prices.
J'aime Carrefour!
#
Carrefour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Carrefour group pioneered the concept of a hypermarket, a large supermarket .... relay was disrupted by Tibetan independence advocates in London and especially Paris, ... The Voorhees location now houses a Kohl's department store, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour - Cached - Simila
#
Carrefour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Carrefour group pioneered the concept of a hypermarket, a large supermarket .... relay was disrupted by Tibetan independence advocates in London and especially Paris, ... The Voorhees location now houses a Kohl's department store, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour - Cached - Similar
#
Paris & Ile de France Supermarkets & Grocery Shops - AngloINFO, in ...
Carrefour: Part of the national supermarket chain. ... Geant: Supermarkets with locations across Paris and Ile-de-France, with an online shopping service. ...
paris.angloinfo.com/.../paris-&-ile-de-france-supermarkets-and-grocery-shops.html -
#134
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Fodorite commonly known as Kerouac, a Parisian resident, posted the following recently - just another of his many great insights into the city - with his permission i hope i'll add some other neat things he has posted to this thread!
Kerouac posted:
If you enjoy the Luxembourg gardens when you are in Paris, here is how the park looked today, with few tourists and not many more Parisians: http://tinyurl.com/nrxvew
It is my favorite time of year for the Luxembourg. Windy October and November days will also be fabulous.>
Kerouac posted:
If you enjoy the Luxembourg gardens when you are in Paris, here is how the park looked today, with few tourists and not many more Parisians: http://tinyurl.com/nrxvew
It is my favorite time of year for the Luxembourg. Windy October and November days will also be fabulous.>