Paris Velib Bike Rentals

It's true, and it keeps most Americans from using the bikes.

It is my understanding that only chip and pin along with the Am Express card We have a similar bike share program in Denver and you either use a credit card or a membership card. Wonder if a membership card would be available in Paris. I am sure there is a web site somewhere.

The only magnetic strip card Velib accepts is American Express; they're a sponsor of it. The only alternative is to purchase a pre-paid debit card when you arrive in Paris; they're chip & pin caompatible. But you will have to have at least 200 euros loaded on the card to cover the deposit.

I have read that if you have a Navigo card that it will allow you to use the Velib bikes. By the way, I have the latest ...Michelin Paris by Arrondissements mapguide and it shows the Velib stands on the maps.

We had a Navigo card for our month in Paris last summer and it didn't work for the Velib bikes. We tried.

I have been able to rent them using my Amex card if that helps.

We're in Paris right now and the bikes are everywhere. Looks like easy rental locations everywhere.

Thanks for all of the information! We'll have Amex cards, so it should work out for us. Thanks again for replying, the people on this site are incredibly helpful!

Steve, there are places in Paris, other than Velib, to rent bikes for the day if that's what you'd like to do. There's a bike rental shop on Quai de Montebello, another by the Hotel de Ville, Fat Tire bikes (in addition to tours, they rent out bikes) and there's one on Saturdays and Sundays in the Bois de Boulogne across from the entrance to the Jardin D'Acclimatation. You can Google for more. On Sundays the road along the Seine, from (I believe) the Grand Palais and going east past Ile Saint Louis is closed to cars for bike riding, roller blading, walkers, etc.

I was wondering if anyone tried using a chip and PIN MasterCard Cash Passport from Travelex to use Velib bikes. We have several Travelex offices in the L.A. area. The chip and PIN MasterCard is a prepaid card, but we could load it up with enough to cover the Velib 150 Euros so that we could use the bikes. Obviously, the exchange cost would be necessary, but we're avid bike riders and would love to use Velib bikes while in Paris this summer.

You can rent a bike, even with the chip and pin. You can open an account and get either a one day or seven day pass. Here is a link for information:
http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-bike-rentals.htm For more information about the Vélib' program in English, visit en.velib.paris.fr

We rented these bikes last week in Paris - absolutely a great way to see the city! Use the website mentioned above (velib.paris.fr then click on the english flag) to set up an account. They give you a pin # and you can use that to rent your bikes each time. We had no problems. Very inexpensive and lots of fun! Best was in the mornings before the traffic picks up - you feel like you have the city all to yourself. Then stop a a cafe for breakfast - perfect!

Debra and Lise, Did you set up your account online in advance? I have tried the website using the date next month we will be in Paris but it rejects my date. If I select todays date it works so I am a bit confused. I would like to get the account set up in advance as I am concerned about the ease of setting up once in Paris.
Merci!

We set-up our account while in Paris, using the computer in the hotel's lobby. This took less than 5 minutes once I adjusted to the European keyboard. Try putting random dates close to when you are traveling into the website. It may only allow you a 1 week, 1 month, etc. prior-to-use window. Then you can try again within that window of time.

Are you using the correct date pattern -- in Europe it is day/month/year and not the US pattern of month.day.year

I got on the web site and played around with the dates and got it to work, it appears that you can't make your activation date much more than 2-3 weeks in advance.

We rented velib several times in paris - we just used our delta AMEX cards! :-) Very fun and convenient!

The only magnetic strip credit card accepted at the Kiosks is American Express; they're a sponsor of Velib. You can only use MC/Visa at the Kiosks if they have the "chip".

So, I don't have to register in advance on the website? When I looked through the site it prompted login info only if I was a long term customer. Can I just walk up and rent one? I see they put a 150 euro hold on your card. Anyone had a bad experience with them not lifting the hold for an extended amount of time?

A couple of things to note:
1. The American Express Blue Card has a chip in it that can be used to rent bikes on the Velib. There is no annual fee. I have another Amex card and got the Amex Blue card in a couple of weeks's time. 2. One of the tricky things about the Velib system is finding a station in busy locations that have space to accommodate the bike you are returning. If you encounter a full Velib station, sign on to the system anyway which will give you additional free minutes. If you don't do this, don't burn a hole in your stomach, the charge for using the bikes for more than 30 minutes at a time is something like 1 Euro so no big deal. 3. There is an App that shows the number of bikes available and the number of spaces available that is worth getting. The App has a map that shows the station locations and also has a feature so that you can save your favorite locations for quick access. 4. It took us a couple times using the Velib system to get on to the system which we enjoyed using. Have fun!

The American Express Blue Card has a chip in it that can be used to rent bikes on the Velib. There is no annual fee. I have another Amex card and got the Amex Blue card in a couple of weeks's time. The Velib kiosks accept all American Express cards; magnetic strip and chip&pin. AE is a sponsor of the program and they have rigged the machines to only accept AE cards with magnetic strips.