Vélo en Ville

Posted by Analyse at 7:11 PM

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Since my former post on the increasing oil prices, displays at the gasoline station nearby never ceased to augment. From 1.19€ per liter for Super Unleaded 95, it went up to 1.32€! Since beginning of this week, a little decrease in these prices has disappointed the French community rather than satisfy them. And who wouldn't, they decreased at an average of 3 cents per liter. Tatlong sentimo! Ngek!


So how do we cope up with this pocket-wrecking phenomenon? On the last post, I tackled the substitution of these gasolines by vegetable oils (biocarburants) which are more environment-friendly. Some automobile companies are starting to design some models which jive with the same objective - decrease fuel consumption, therefore save the planet. BMW for example exposed a hydrogen-powered engine while Toyota featured their fuel cell hybrid cars combining both electricity and gasoline. Click here for more info (in french).

Europe is basically pro-environment. You could see this mentality in every corner of their little villages. From waste segregation to depriving themselves from air-conditioning to reduce consumption. Plastic bags are not given anymore for shoppers in big supermarkets, you have to bring your own bag or basket. Oil prices are astronomical to dissuade consumers from using their cars too often. Tax deductions are even given to those who buy clean cars or those which emit less C02 (Liquified Petroleum Gas for France or GPL). Bikes are widely used in the Netherlands and Belgium, and now here in France.

In Lyon, they launched a vélo en ville program (city biking) wherein a commuter could take a bike anywhere and leave it anywhere. Isn't that cool? In fact, the city made available for the public a number of bike stations where commuters could take, leave and pay rentals all in one. It's so easy to use, with an access card, you could roam the city as much as you want.


Why didn't they implement this brilliant idea when I was still living there? Think about the practicality of it. You don't have to buy your own bike, buy your own lock and find a parking space, or bring your car everytime and
of course pay for the parking space, or wait for the bus, or the tramway, or the underground train! Imagine how my life could have been so much easier in this strike-prone country!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

ay sinabi mo, ang mahal na ng gas dito (almost 1.4€ dito for unleaded 95, mas mahal pa compared to France. Sumali ako tuloy sa raffle ng Yves Rocher para sa Toyota Prius, hehehe!!!

Analyse said...

Mildred, wagi ka bading hehe..actually, kinalimutan ko na nga muna ang bike, baka kinakalawang na sya sa garage ngayon. pero before, i was using it to go to the university or kahit saan na medyo malapit lang...our roads here are biker-friendly, as in they have their own lane...hanap ka na, mukha ka namang intsik, so they won't be surprised pag nakabike ka nyehehehe..

Trivs, e di ba nga, ganun ang law, the more you go up north in europe, the more euros you will spend...naku, me raffle din sa carrefour, makasali nga rin, i don't know tho what type of car yung nasa stake hehe...pero ok na rin, mapalitan man lang yung 106 ko hehe..

Anonymous said...

didn't know there's a velo en ville now in lyon! i feel the same way - sana it was implemented when i was living in lyon too! wouldve been more interesting to see the city from a bike than changing metros underground!
kala

tintin said...

The U.S. is so behind in these matters its embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

Sabi nga ng husband ko, our next car (kelan kaya yun) will be a hybrid and only a hybrid. Kaso nga lang mas mahal siya kaya matagal pa ang paghihintay ko hehe. We have recycling here too but I like the practice of not providing plastic bags in grocery shops. Minsan ang OA nilang mag-bag dito. The only store who is practicing that is Sam's Club, byob (bring your own bayong) but I doubt it if its for environmental purposes.

Anonymous said...

thats good to know that efforts are being made to address fuel's runaway cost...

kung di lang sana sobrang polluted ang manila, ok lang mag-bike, pero dito sa cebu puede pa. :)

linnor
http://linnor.marikit.net/

yusop said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
yusop said...

Hi Analyze. I hope the world would someday find the most viable and cost-effective substitute to petroleum. Our problems with rising fuel cost are really straining us that it is even feared that the world order may be disturbed if these problems continue.

Analyse said...

Kala, i guess they just started a few months back. just saw it on tv actually.

when i was in lyon (2001), there were transpo strikes almost everytime..these bikes could have saved my day! i was stocked near alliance française once (lyon centre i guess), and i was living in villeurbanne, near the univ, didnt know what to do! frenchguy's living in dijon then...

TinTin, yeah, too sad..when they didnt sign the kyoto protocol, the french were saying that they really dont have the same politics as here..

france is actually late already, i guess germany is leading this measures here in europe..

Geri, look for the long term, it might be expensive at first, but it will be balanced by the consumables...oh well, me too, i need a new car, but my budget isnt enough yet...

Linnor, another problem in manila is reckless driving...i don't think i'll suggest this measure to my bros and sis living there..

Major Tom, if everybody works for the same objective, we will surely succeed. but as we can see, it's almost, to each his own. i've seen a study wherein they calculated the fuel reserves and with the current consumption, we only have reserves up until around 30 yrs i guess...and yet, there's no serious research on its substitute and we continue to fabricate high-fuel-consuming automobiles such as 4x4s...and because of security issues, even citadins buy such vehicules.

thanks for visiting...:)

duke said...

ahh I remember in carrefour bring your own basket or bag for your groceries nga. Isn't it nice that the velos are being utilized!? I guess di lang nga puede yan sa ville namin in Nice( actually , Levens...)mej maountain side kami ( en route to Monaco).. aba mahirap mag bike ng pataas! matarik pa!

Analyse said...

Denny, ;)

Duke, aba, ok nga yan so you could train yourself for the next Tour de France di ba. Actually, in Lyon, there's a quartier rin uphill and what happens is that, they descend with the bike and go back with the bus hehe, daya ba..you could do that too..

Anonymous said...

Hi analyse..you mentioned the Kyoto Protocol.gee..it ws a big issue here, what with the U.S not cooperating,it all boils down to money=business?!

happy birthday to your frenchguy! i enjoyed the parade pics!

Analyse said...

Thanks, Sachiko. yeah, that issue stirred discussions here too..but anyways, french and americans have the love and hate relationship all the time, they wanted to love each other but can't help but hate each other hehe..with the Iraq issue, americans are even seen pouring their wines in their canals..what about that!

Bokbok said...

strike-prone country! hahaha!
sinabi mo pa!

vélo en ville, that's a good start. the question is, magtuloy-tuloy kaya? well i just hope so...

bises!
;)

Analyse said...

haha, totoo naman a. my prof in french told us before that her country is le pays du grève! jamais content!

i guess that vélo en ville is a good start, considering most frenchies are sportifs, i'm sure they will bite the idea...except of course en hiver et le temps du pluie hehe..and the distance..