The Velo Bleu share-bikes are great in concept, but in practice there have been a few… shall we say, speedbumps. One complication is that if you didn’t plan ahead, you need a cellphone to sign up, and if you are a tourist, that means racking up a big cellphone bill during the protracted automated set-up call. And if you are a family… well make that several expensive calls… and suddenly the 1€ a day Velo Bleu doesn’t seem like such a good deal anymore.
To address these issues, the city has just installed credit card terminals at several of the most popular bike stations around town, which now gives users a quicker, more straight forward way to pay. Start your one-day or one-week bike access at one of these stations and you save time, hassle, and couples or families can rent multiple bikes at once. The machine prints out a ticket with the code, which you use to pick up bikes at any stand anywhere in town.
Here is a list of the bike stands that now take credit cards:
- Train stations: Nice-ville, Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Riquier
- Place Massena
- The Promenade at Gambetta
- Cagnes-sur-Mer at the beach
- … and coming mid-March: Jean-Jaures, and another at Quai des Etats-Unis, on either side of the Old Town, plus one on the Prom near the airport.
If you’ve never used these great little bikes or have heard horror stories, click here for everything you need to know about the Velo Bleu including the cost, how it works, the app, maps for bike stations and bike paths, …plus insider tips on how to smooth out all those Velo Bleu speed bumps!
Nice-Matin: Velos bleus : on peut payer par carte bancaire
Photo licensed under Creative Commons
Related Page: Bike Rental in Nice: The Velo Bleu
