floridapugmom

We are visiting Paris in 2 weeks and my husband thought we would try to use the Velib' bikes to get around a little. We have looked at the site and seen that you can purchase a ticket with your credit card; can we use our American VISA ? Would it be best to purchase a ticket on line before we go? If you have had any experience with these bikes I would really like your opinion of them. THANKS

kerouac

The only American card that Vélib accepts is American Express.

PatrickLondon

To get the best use out of the bikes:

1. Get a map that shows you where the stations are, so that you know where you're going to leave it when you're done (most newsagents will have them along with the other maps of Paris - I have a pocket-sized book, cost about €5.

2. Don't hang on to the bike - try to park it within the free half hour (you can get a good way in that time). Don't think of it as hiring a bike, so much as a self-powered taxi - ride it, return it, forget it.

3. But make sure, when you are docking the bike at the end of the ride, that it has locked in and that its return has been recorded. You can print out a receipt, and/or you can check your record of hires.

floridapugmom

PatrickLondon; Thanks for all the great advice; should we buy tickets on line before we leave?

dina4

hi,

we used the velibs the last time we were in paris, and enjoyed them so much! we were told american express only, so we didn't even try our visa.

in fact, i found my notes...

VELIB RENTALS:
• only American exp works
• use English touch-screen menu available, some “Validate” green buttons to push as you proceed through the menus and instructions, and everything is pretty well explained.
• buy one-day subscriptions, agree to a 150€ charge should you run off with the bikes and never return them, select 4-digit ID code. Then receive a numbered ticket, and that was it. With ticket and PIN number in hand, you can then withdraw a bike from any Velib’ station by inserting your ticket and typing in your corresponding PIN number
• you must press a button on the top of the stanchion that holds up the bike to release it. Voilà
• to return: simply slide bike back into one of the stanchions. A light on the stanchion turned yellow, then green, and get receipt.
• The system’s best feature is that if you return your bike within 30 min, the rental is free!

Have fun!!

floridapugmom

dina4; This is great info, thanks so much! How did you pay for your tickets? Did you use an A.Ex. card? We only have a VISA so I need to take care of the ticket before we leave in 10 days. Becky

PatrickLondon

Everything's based on charging to your credit card. It looks as though all the interactions are based on putting your card into a station control post. If you don't have one with a chip in it, I don't know what you can do. If your French is up to it you could try telephoning:
0033 1 30 79 79 30

http://www.velib.paris.fr/L-equipe-V...-votre-service

dina4

i'm not aware of anyway you can purchase in advance. Did the website say you can do this?
We just put our Amex card in the kiosk at the bike stand when we were ready to go.

perhaps if you can't purchase ahead, it would be worth it to get an amex card. they're customer service is fantastic and they could definitely get it to you before you leave. you know what they say... "don't leave home without it"

scrb11

Hmm, is it a special Amex card, one of those with chips?

Are there online maps of the stations? Or maybe an iPhone app.?

kerouac

No, any ordinary American Express card works, but chipless Visa and MasterCard are not accepted.

ParisAmsterdam

I notice that experienced Parisians always check the tires before deciding on which bike to pull out.

If you are not able to get an Amex card in time there are places that rent bikes the old fashioned way:

http://www.scooter-rental-paris.com/...iflocation.htm

The bicycle rates are at the bottom of the page above...

kerouac

Yes, my method:

1. Check the tires.
2. Wiggle the handlebars to make sure nothing is loose.
3. Spin the pedals backwards to make sure they are not blocked.

Since the early days of Vélib, a modfication has been made for getting a new bike. If you return the bike to the same station within one minute because you dicovered a hidden problem, you can take another bike immediately. Otherwise, whenever you return a bike, you are not allowed to take another one for 5 minutes.

jeanned

We used our American Express card to rent the bikes. We initially had a little trouble in getting it to accept the card, but figured it out. The bikes worked beautifully and we were charged appropriately. Highly recommend it.

dina4

yes, there are definitely maps of velib stations throughout paris. i'm sure you can find them if you google. i remember finding them myself and knowing exactly where they were.

have fun!

nukesafe

Here is an interactive one from the Velib site: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...age%2BA4_4.pdf

scrb11

How about maps of the bike lanes?

I did a bike tour and was surprised to see so much bike lanes.

Without them though, I'd be leery of riding bikes on some streets.

Not as crazy as Rome, where you'd be trying to squeeze around cars against scooters, but pretty dangerous.

I noticed in the 4th, they had some kind of a pedestrian zone set up during certain hours.

kerouac

There are quite a few huge pedestrian and bike zones on Sundays and holidays -- for example the right bank expressway, both sides of the upper Canal Saint Martin, some of Montmartre and a number of other areas.

DebitNM

Can you use the same Amer Exp card to rent two bikes at same time [for DH and myself]?

Aside from the 5 minute wait after returning the previous bike, are there any restrictions as to how many rentals you can do in a day?

http://www.velib.paris.fr/

GlassCannon

Re: AmericanExpress -- Does that mean it also works in other must-have-a-chip readers, like metro kiosks? I wasn't aware there were any cards with chips easily available in the US.

Alternately, would Visa gift card types work in the Velib machines, if they had enough credit on them to cover the 150€?

CarolA

No American issued Visa will work. Gift cards or no different