VIDEO: Watch how vandals have destroyed 30 percent of Lyon's bike-share fleet
The city of Lyon has suffered an 'unprecedented' wave of vandalism directed at the bike-share services on offer. Some of the vandalism has been caught on camera.
In fact so many bikes from the Vélo'v scheme - which cover Lyon and neighbouring Villeurbanne - have been vandalised that the company has had to close 27 of its stations because of a lack of usable bikes.
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A video was posted online showing one youth trying to destroy one of the bikes.
Un quart de la flotte de Vélo'v détruit à Lyon
Des bandes de jeunes s'en prennent depuis deux mois aux vélos en libre-service de la métropole. Un phénomène inédit par son ampleur ➡ https://t.co/sBKz7m8eus pic.twitter.com/PiRKt2ln6N
— Le Point (@LePoint) 23 June 2019
It is estimated that around 30 percent of the city's fleet of 4,000 bikes have been vandalised, and the company has had to reintroduce into service some older model bikes while the repairs are ongoing.
"For several weeks now, the Vélo'v service has been confronted with an unprecedented wave of vandalism and violence, with 1,200 bicycles in urgent need of repair from a fleet of 4,000 cycles," a spokesman for La Metropole de Lyon told BFM TV.
"Since the launch of Vélo'v in 2005, we have never seen a situation like this."
Once the current repairs are complete, Vélo'v plans to increase its fleet to 5,000 bikes and open up an extra 80 stations, most of them in the urban areas surrounding Lyon in order to expand the scheme outside of the city centre.
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In fact so many bikes from the Vélo'v scheme - which cover Lyon and neighbouring Villeurbanne - have been vandalised that the company has had to close 27 of its stations because of a lack of usable bikes.
READ ALSO How to avoid falling foul of new rules on electric scooters
A video was posted online showing one youth trying to destroy one of the bikes.
Un quart de la flotte de Vélo'v détruit à Lyon
— Le Point (@LePoint) 23 June 2019
Des bandes de jeunes s'en prennent depuis deux mois aux vélos en libre-service de la métropole. Un phénomène inédit par son ampleur ➡ https://t.co/sBKz7m8eus pic.twitter.com/PiRKt2ln6N
It is estimated that around 30 percent of the city's fleet of 4,000 bikes have been vandalised, and the company has had to reintroduce into service some older model bikes while the repairs are ongoing.
"For several weeks now, the Vélo'v service has been confronted with an unprecedented wave of vandalism and violence, with 1,200 bicycles in urgent need of repair from a fleet of 4,000 cycles," a spokesman for La Metropole de Lyon told BFM TV.
"Since the launch of Vélo'v in 2005, we have never seen a situation like this."
Once the current repairs are complete, Vélo'v plans to increase its fleet to 5,000 bikes and open up an extra 80 stations, most of them in the urban areas surrounding Lyon in order to expand the scheme outside of the city centre.
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