A few days ago, our friends at Agemob (the Metropolitan Agency for Shared Mobility, which manages Vélib’) revealed the new pricing structure, and it was shared by our colleagues from Parisien. This is a real shocker for all subscribers, as prices are rising across the board. What’s worse, from now on, no subscription will offer free rides with electric bikes.
All in the Same Boat
Previously, when signing up for a V-Max subscription, users enjoyed unlimited mechanical bikes for 1 hour, as well as 2 free 45-minute rides on electric bikes. Unfortunately, this system will soon change, as the approximately 190,000 subscribers will still be able to borrow green bikes without limits.
They will need to pay 50 cents as soon as they unlock a blue bike (then €2 starting from the 3rd bike each day). This means an additional cost that can quickly add up to several dozen euros by the end of the month for regular users. The only ones exempt from this increase are the V-Max Solidarity users. The V-Max Seniors and Youth will enjoy a 25% discount, just 0.37 cents.@Velib vous êtes des vrais connards en fait ! Nouvel hausse des tarifs alors que 60% de velib sont dysfonctionnels ! Vous êtes des chiens. Supprimer les deux courses gratuites par jours en vélo électrique alors que rien ne fonctionne, mais vous n'avez pas honte ?#velib #boycott pic.twitter.com/RIQHoMQEiy
— 𝚉𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚢𝚊 (@stephlecolibri) July 23, 2025
The same fight for V-Plus, a plan that offers 30 minutes of green biking as many times as needed, with the subscription going up from €3.10 to €4.30 per month. The rental of an electric bike will still be €2 for 45 minutes. Finally, the last ones to face this price change are the subscribers of V-Libre, which are highly valued by occasional users, whose registration fees, previously non-existent, will now rise to €6 for prepaid minutes. However, it's important to note that these changes will only apply to new subscriptions or renewals. So if you don’t have a subscription yet, now is the perfect time to make the leap!
A timing that couldn't be worse
This decision is already creating dissatisfaction.
users’ concerns, and we totally get it. Indeed, besides the not insignificant financial aspect, many subscribers point out that this measure comes at a time when the Vélib’ system is really struggling. Since June, quite a few have noticed that functional electric bikes are becoming increasingly rare, if not nonexistent in some stations. It’s a catastrophic situation that can be explained by a record number of subscribers (16% more rides in a year, and almost 500,000 subscribers).Velib qui font monter les prix de l’abonnement et vont passer les vélo électrique payant 🤣🤣🤣 alors que 9 vélo sur 10 sont dans un état calamiteux on est vraiment des p****
— Grim 🐟 (@Grimkujow_) July 29, 2025
But also because of the ever-increasing number of bike thefts and frauds involving Vélib’. For almost 2 months now, there have been 640 bikes stolen every day compared to 230 during normal times, according to Sylvain Raifaud, president of Agemob. These crimes lead to a significant economic deficit for the agency, but also to a overuse of the other bikes. In fact, it’s to better manage the distribution and repair of these bikes that the decision was made to raise the prices. This should encourage some to consider other services. In any case, we’re going to get into sports and choose green!
