( Paris is set for a transport revolution...)Paris Set for Pedal Power Revolution,Health

Paris is set for a transport revolution this weekend when a fleet of 10,000 self-service bicycles hits the city, providing a cheap and fun alternative to the metro for Parisians and tourists alike.

As the Tour de France annual bike race wends its arduous way across the country, in Paris amateur cyclists will from Sunday be able to use swipe- or credit-cards 24 hours a day to rent cycles for short trips, dropping them off at any of 750 bike points to be picked up by a new user.

The scheme, named Velib, is part of a growing global trend for eco-friendly, easy-access urban bike rental, but is the first in a major capital and is being keenly watched by city planners from Rio de Janeiro to Montreal.

City Hall hopes Parisians will adopt the system en masse, and expects to have at least 200,000 regular users by year end, when the number of bikes is set to double to 20,600 at 1,451 stations.

And the 16 million tourists who come to Paris every year -- making it the most visited city in the world -- will also havy easy access to the bikes for seeing the sights.

Users simply click on a website to sign up or pick up a form from bakeries, newsagents or metro stations citywide.

The stylishly-designed bike docking stations, spaced 300 metres (yards) apart, form a dense grid across the city, and cyclists can use the Internet or a mobile phone to check on bike availability at any one.

Each dock has a panel that gives instructions in several languages.

Costs for the user have been kept right down. Rental is free for the first half hour, rising to one euro for the second, two for the next and so on -- a progressive charging system designed to encourage short rents and quick turn-over.

There is also a small subscription fee. Registered bikers pay 29 euros (38 dollars) a year while occasional cyclists can use a credit card to pay a one-off daily fee of one euro
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