Vélotoulouse, the self-service bicycle rental service will undergo a real revolution. The concession of the current service to JC Decaux coming to an end in July 2023, Tisséo Collectivités, now competent by law (article L 1 231-1-1 of the Transport Code) to take over and manage this service, launched a call for offers for the renewal and extension of this service, which has been acclaimed by many users since its creation in 2007. And yes, gray and red bicycles have already been circulating in the Pink City for 15 years.

50% of electric bikes in September 2023

The specifications for this current contract provide for the objective of electrifying half of the self-service bicycle fleet in Toulouse, from September 2023 and, in the long term, to extend rental to the entire territory of Toulouse Métropole with 75 % of electric bicycles and only 25% of traditional mechanical bicycles.
The idea is of course to develop the use of electric bikes throughout the territory of Toulouse Métropole and no longer just in the city centre. The electric bicycle allows users to make longer home/work journeys, and this without any particular effort thanks to the back-up of the electric batteries on board the bicycles made available by the service.
Provided that a real network of secure cycle paths and especially that the Express Bike Network (REV) is set up on the outskirts of Toulouse, as claimed for several years by the defenders of the little queen, the association 2 feet, 2 wheels for example or the group of associations “Axe vert de la Ramée”.
Toulouse Métropole and the Haute-Garonne departmental council have programmed and produced the next realization of this REV, and new cycle paths allowing you to travel in complete safety in the Toulouse metropolis.
“This planned electrification would be a good thing provided that the tracks and the REV are followed, declares Sébastien Aubry, member of the Ax vert de la Ramée collective, the Toulouse metropolis is very late, it would be good to catch up with secure cycling infrastructure rather than building new roads that only encourage car use”.

A market over 10 years

Tisséo Collectivités did not “wish to comment on a current call for tenders”, contenting itself with specifying that this call for tenders is “for a public of 10 years (with possible renewal for two additional years )”, confirming: “At the start of the service, the bicycle fleet will be made up of 50% mechanical bicycles and 50% electrically assisted bicycles (VAE). It will assess towards a 75% share of VAE (electric) ”.
The call for tenders was published on January 14, 2022. Commissioning is scheduled for September 2023. The company Enedis, in charge of the electricity network supplying the self-service bicycle rental terminals, confirmed to La Dépêche that it is working right now so that the electrification of these terminals, both current and new, is possible.