Since the commencement of the Velib bicycle renting scheme in Paris world wide interest has been growing. The Paris scheme uses over 20,000 bikes which are hired on average 10 times each per day from the 1451 stations based around the city. Other cities including Berlin, Rome, London, Lyon , San Francisco and Barcelona have commenced similar schemes and many others including Sydney and Melbourne have shown interest. One problem in getting such schemes operating in Australia is the compulsory helmet laws.

In a paper presented at the Taipei Show Jack Oortwijn, Editor in Chief of Bike Europe Trade Journal stated that these schemes may have a huge impact on the worldwide bicycle industry. He believes that when introduced they may have a negative temporary effect on bike sales in city bike shops but they have long term advantages in making areas more cycle friendly, supporting establishment of cycling infra-structure and promoting cycling amongst users.

On a similar but not quite so enthusiastic note Rene Takens, CEO of the Accell Group said that he doesn’t believe these rental schemes will lead to a revolution in bike sales but that the next few years will see a growth in bikes used for commuting in cities where the rental schemes are set up. Users of the rental scheme bikes will become less satisfied with them and will look for better bikes more suited to their individual needs. Many of these people could be new users, lured to try cycling by the rental schemes.

It is interesting to note that commuting type bike sales has grown by about 39% in France in the last year possibly influenced by the rental schemes. However, overall sales of bikes in France have remained stable with the MTB segment suffering with sales dropping below 50% of the total.