[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Vexx

But really.... haven't we sent the NEWS thread off into oblivion at this point? Can we get back to "news of the day?" Maybe we should have an "American Politics, History, Culture, and Attitudes" thread.

Look, that's how much the US affects everybody these days.

Meanwhile, could this be the transit of the future...?

Paris introduces self-service electric car scheme
A fleet of blue, eco-friendly electric cars will hit the streets of the French capital next autumn and cost no more than a tube fare to zip around town.

Bertrand Delanoë, the city's Socialist mayor hopes Autolib will be as popular as Vélib, the hit bike rental scheme he introduced in 2007 and which has been adopted by cities around the world including London.

Yesterday he confirmed the town hall had selected a four-seat vehicle made by the French company Bolloré, whose industrialist owner, Vincent Bolloré, famously lent his mega-yacht to President Nicolas Sarkozy after his election.
Autolib will see 3,000 small, battery-powered bubble vehicles placed at 1,000 self-service ranks across Paris and its suburbs.

The scheme will cost 12 euros per month for annual subscribers, who will then be required to pay five euros for the first half-hour of use, four euros for the next and six for every extra 30 mins at the wheel. The idea, as with Vélib, is to encourage short trips. One-off weekly subscriptions will cost 15 euros and daily passes 10 euros.

The Bluecar, designed by Bolloré's Italian partners Pininfarina, has a maximum speed of 130kph (around 80mph), a range of around 250km (155 miles) and its lithium metal polymer battery will take four hours on average to charge. Drivers will be able to book via internet, phone or at stations, and can book arrival parking spots in advance.

Notoriously nervy Parisian drivers will have to get used to its sluggish acceleration of 0 to 60 in 6.3 seconds but the mayor hopes it will revolutionise the way they get around by car.

The Autolib will come with a GPS screen and an emergency call button.
According to polls, 2.4 million people in the Paris area intend to use the system. It requires between 160,000 and 200,000 subscribers to become economically viable.

Paris' mayor has declared war on privately-owned cars, building a network of bus and cycle lanes that are the bane of motorists and he has plans to pedestrianise swathes of the city centre and riverside boulevards.

One city hall study suggested the average car in the capital spends about 95 per cent of its time parked. Only 42 per cent of Parisians own a car, and 16 per cent use theirs less than once a month.

Bolloré has invested 60 million euros (£51 million) into Autolib, which is expected to cost more than 110 million in all.