Do you remember when you could get on an electric Vélib ‘in complete freedom, without thinking of the meter? Well, this era is coming to an end. From August 12, 2025, major changes arrive, and not in the right direction according to many users. Vélib ‘, this Parisian icon of sweet mobility, suddenly becomes a service … overpriced. But why such a decision, and above all, why does it annoy users so much?
Goodbye free journeys: an increase in price that goes wrong
If you often bike in Paris, the news will surely make you cringe. So far, the V-Max subscription offered two free journeys per day in electric Vélib ‘. Practical, right? But from August, each trip will now cost 50 cents. And if you’re more than two, it’s 2 euros more per race. Yes, 2 euros.
And there, we wonder: is it really to improve the service … or just to fill the boxes? Because in the meantime, it is above all the regulars, often the least affluent, who will have to pay the high price. And when you count on Vélib ‘to go and work every day, it ends up weighing heavy at the end of the month.
A shock for the most modest
Sweet mobility is supposed to be accessible to everyone, right? However, this increase is likely to dig a little more the gap between those who can afford it and those who will have to give up. Yes, there is always a help for the poorest, a “solidarity price.” But is it enough? Do it really concern everyone who struggles to complete the end of the month?
The electric bike was a nice, fast, green option. But when its cost becomes an obstacle, it is the principle of a modern urban service that collapses. It’s not just a question of budget. It is a question of social justice.
Changes that also disadvantage tourists and occasional users
Not just regular Parisians are affected. Even visitors or those who only use Vélib ‘once from time to time will pass. Access to bikes will now cost them 6 euros. Yes, just to be able to use them. No journey included. Frankly, do you find that logical?
A price for use would surely have been clearer. Because to impose a subscription for two walks in the month, it is discouraging. Tourists may well go and see elsewhere. Or to walk. Or worse … to take over a taxi.
An increasingly reliable service
And then, it is not as if the Vélib ‘service shone by its effectiveness. You have probably already experienced it: you find an empty station when you need a bicycle, or full when you want to return it. In July, nearly 3000 bikes lacked the call. The fault of vandalism, in breakdowns, but also to a management that seems … outdated.
Worse, if the station is full and you put your bike elsewhere, be careful: you risk a fine of 8 euros. Unless you waste time calling customer service. We are far from the flexibility that a public service should offer. And clearly, we are even further from the simplicity that we expect from an urban mobility supplier.
Disguised privatization?
With all these changes, some even speak of a “disguised privatization” of the Vélib ‘. And what do you know? It is not wrong. The prices increase, the rules harden, the penalties are raining … and in the end, only those who have the means continue to pedal the free mind.
What is sad is that Vélib ‘was not just a means of transport. It was a symbol. A simple, shared, ecological solution. Now he looks more and more like an elitist service, closed to those that the bicycle could really help.
What future for Vélib ‘?
Paris wants to be a green capital, and that’s good. But how do you even get there if the bicycle – one of the cleanest transport – becomes a luxury? What users are looking for is not luxury. It’s just a reliable, simple, and above all, affordable service.
There is still time to review these choices. To think of people who use Vélib ‘every day, not just the numbers in a spreadsheet. Because a greener city is not done without its inhabitants. And surely not without them on their bikes.