The system’s not super new, but we tried out some city wide bike sharing programs on a recent visit to Europe and fell in love. One of the most widely publicized and successful…Vélib (short for Vélo Liberté or bicycle freedom).

Part of a plan to cut traffic 40% by 2020, it’s become the largest and most successful bike-sharing program in the world growing from 10,000 to what’s now 20,000 bicycles and 1,450 stations, about 1 station every 300 m throughout the city center.

It’s a simple subscription model that allows you to pick up bikes at any location. The first 30 min of every trip are free with exponentially increasing rates per half hour (for most short trips to the store etc. and to keep bikes in circulation).

From testimonials (and personal experience), bikes are by far the fastest way to get around Paris.

Twenty vehicles are used at night to redistribute bicycles to high-demand stations and a barge that floats up and down the Seine serves as the service station.

JCDecaux advertising corporation financed the project and provides the government revenue from the program as well, a fee of $4.3 million a year and about half of all billboards free of charge for PSAs. In return, JCDecaux gets exclusive billboard ad rights.

The design challenge: convincing people that riding a bicycle is not a symbol of lowered social status, and that the Vélib is not their “grandpa’s bicycle.” At the same time, they also had to design something durable that could be ridden by a variety of people day after day.

New York, are you taking notes? For more, there’s an episode about the bike project that aired recently on the e2 series…(Brad Pitt narrating about city wide bike sharing? … swoon). Kudos to KR Films for some nice videography of a great idea.