Paris' Popular Bike Rental Sparks Electric Car Plans

Paris plans to launch the world's largest electric car access scheme in September of next year. The city is hoping to emulate the popularity of its easy rental system for bicycles, known as Velib.

This time around, Autolib, which stands for auto liberte, will allow Parisians to rent an electric vehicle whenever they need to, with the goal of cutting down on car ownership, traffic and pollution.

Paris' pedestrians and cyclists have had a lot to celebrate in a decade of pro-green policies. Since 2001, traffic in the city has dropped nearly 25 percent because of better public transport and restrictions on automobiles.