Abstract

This case is about Velib, Paris’s public bike system that was started in July 2007 by one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, JCDecaux. This was a bid by the city administration to improve the transportation system for Parisians. JCDecaux modeled Velib after its successful bike sharing program, Velo’v that had been launched in Lyon, France, in May 2005. As part of the deal, JCDecaux provided 20,600 bicycles and also maintained the Velib system consisting of bicycles, bike stations, and terminals. In return, JCDecaux got access to the 1,628 billboards in Paris for outdoor advertising. The case discusses the operating model of the Velib in detail and the challenges faced by it. According to experts, the Velib system was a huge success with over 50 million trips being reported since its launch and August 2009. Some experts commended JCDecaux for developing a system that helped reduce environmental impact while improving the mobility of Parisians. While Velib was reported to be a successful program, the downside was increasing theft and vandalism. JCDecaux contended that these problems had rendered the present business model of Velib unsustainable. However, some critics believed that the company was making a lot of fuss over the issues just to negotiate a better deal with the city of Paris.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Study the Velib public bike sharing system
• Understand the importance of design (product design/ system/ processes) in meeting the operational objectives
• Study the operating model of the Velib system
• Analyze whether the Velib system is sustainable
• and Examine the challenges in implementing the Velib system and explore strategies that the Velib team can adopt in the future.

Keywords

Operating model, Business model, Design, Innovation, Sustainability, Sustainable transportation, Public bike rental system, Bike sharing, Transportation system, Cyclocity system, Paris Mobility Plan, Advertising, Vélib', JCDecaux