Those who still don’t believe that ecology and economy can go hand in hand should ask a resident of Lyon. Until 2005, cyclists were a bit of a rarity in France’s second-largest city. Then the municipality introduced a bicycle sharing system called Vélo’v. Unlike the idealistic, unregulated community sharing programs of previous decades – where most bikes were soon vandalized or stolen – Vélo’v relies on electronic locks, smart cards, telecommunication systems and embedded electronics, as well as a public-private partnership with an advertising company that keeps the scheme cost-neutral for the city. The system has been a huge success. Within a year, the number of cycle rides in the city had increased by 500%, a quarter of which were on Vélo’v bikes. In 2007, Paris introduced a similar bike sharing system of its own, the now world-famous Vélib.