Need a van to move, transport furniture for the apartment or plants for the terrace? For the thousands of Parisians who for the most part do not have a car, here is a new solution, which has the merit of being non-polluting, or in any case zero emissions.
Clem is a car-sharing company which has won a contract from the City of Paris to operate 54 stations with a total of 264 old Autolib ‘terminals in the capital. Its peculiarity: to offer for hire only electric vans or minivans.
From € 4.50 per half hour
For the moment, these are Renault Kangoo (some of which have been bought from La Poste, hence their yellow color) and Nissan eNV200 Evalia. “But we will be able to adapt to demand, for example by offering larger trucks or refrigerated vehicles. We can predict what is necessary for logistics professionals, ”explains Bruno Flinois, founder of Clem.
How it works? Just register on the Clem app, with your credit card and of course your driving license photographed. Once this has been verified by the Clem teams, generally in less than 24 hours, you can reserve your vehicle. All you need to do is connect to the app and locate a station on the map of Paris with the Clem utilities. You can book one instantly, for an hour, a week or a month.
The aim is to be accessible to everyone at the same time, with half-hourly bookings from € 4.50 all inclusive, insurance and energy, then decreasing prices beyond € 9 per day. ‘hour. Prices climb to € 39 per day for a Kangoo and € 50 for the Nissan van. But they remain advantageous compared to many rental companies, especially since there are no fuel costs, electric recharging being included.
Offers tailored to professionals
But the objective is also, through other pricing formulas, to adapt to the needs of entrepreneurs. “If a professional decides to drop his personal utility vehicle, it’s because carsharing will be cheaper and more practical,” explains Bruno Flinois. If he has to be in Rungis every Monday morning, for example, he can reserve a vehicle for every Monday of the year at the same time. “
They are thus offered two offers, at 70 or 200 € per month, and then allow multiple reservations and reductions of 20% and 40% respectively on the basic hourly rate (€ 9 or € 11 per hour depending on the vehicle ).
The service is operational, but is slowly taking its marks. Already, at present, of the 264 Autolib ‘terminals allocated to Clem, only about fifty have vehicles available. The increase will be gradual during the year.
A service still in progress
In the meantime, because of this relatively low supply, not sure if the van downstairs is available. Sometimes you have to be prepared to take the metro to a terminal further away in order to be able to use it. Or it is better to anticipate to be sure that you have a vehicle available. Reservations are possible up to thirty days in advance.
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Then, if you find an available vehicle, it is theoretically possible to simply unlock it with your smartphone before getting behind the wheel. And, if the connection is not made, it is possible to go through the Autolib ‘charging station and enter the code received by SMS to open the car. But if the terminal is out of service, which was the case during our test, we must resolve to wait for the arrival of a technician… Not easy when we are in a hurry to get a delivery of equipment.
Up to 200 km of autonomy
But beyond the risk of failure, as often in new services, the few regulars of Clem in Paris are delighted. Just like Christine Grzybowska, from the Coup de Pousses association, who has already used a Clem van ten times in the 12th arrondissement, near her association.
“We are an association that does vegetation, gardens and vegetable gardens and we need a vehicle from time to time,” she explains. Clem is a service that perfectly meets our needs. The station is very close and the autonomy is sufficient. We were able to go and maintain a garden in Crécy-la-Chapelle, in Seine-et-Marne, about fifty kilometers away. “
The autonomy of the Nissan is indeed about 200 km, but that of the older Kangoo, 60 km. “The average of our rentals is for races of less than 10 km”, specifies Bruno Flinois, who also insists a lot on the quality of the vehicle fleet and its maintenance. “We don’t let anything go,” he assures us. And then, it’s really sharing. Users often have to reuse the vehicle, so they take better care of it. We are not Autolib ‘. “
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