BlueIndy’s Paris-based owner announced in December 2019 that it was shutting the service in May 2020 after failing to achieve profitability. It left dozens of recharging stations throughout the city.
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The city will release a request for proposals to developers to repurpose 29 of the 89 former charging-station sites before the end of the year, according to the Department of Metropolitan Development.
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The ideas the city received fell into four broad categories: public charging for e-bikes and scooters, public charging for electric vehicles, shared transit services and placemaking.
After issuing a request for information and performing an infrastructure analysis, the city said it found that the existing charging stations “perform at a level below what is considered viable for reuse.”
A City-County Council committee this week killed a proposal requesting the mayor and his administration waive the city’s option to purchase Blue Indy’s charging stations and kiosks.
The city will issue a request for information next month that will solicit “cost-effective, placed based uses” for the below ground infrastructure and footprint of existing BlueIndy stations.
Council Minority Leader Brian Mowery said his caucus believes returning Blue Indy spots to non-metered public parking would be beneficial to businesses.
Stakeholders tell IBJ they’d like to see the electric-car-sharing service’s infrastructure continue to be used in some fashion.
The electric-car-sharing service that launched in September 2015 notified customers Friday morning that it will discontinue its Indianapolis fleet in May.
Blue Indy has yet to see a money-making year, and the company’s top Indianapolis official says he can’t predict when that will happen.
The French capital on Thursday canceled its contract with Bollore after the company predicted losses totaling $348 million over the next five years and asked for taxpayers to pick up much of the cost.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is considering early termination of the firm’s contract with the city, amid widening losses and criticism that the vehicles are poorly maintained and dirty.
The Central Indiana Personal Mobility Network is in its early stages. But the general idea is to use technology, including a smartphone app and other tools, to make it easier for people to use IndyGo and other local transportation options, including Blue Indy electric-car sharing, Indiana Pacers Bikeshare, Uber, and Lyft.
The BlueIndy car-sharing program is facing a big challenge: How do you succeed when so many potential customers are unaware of, uninterested in, or even intimidated by what you’re trying to sell?
It’s tough to look at your own community and figure out what it’s doing that no one else is. But IBJ gave it a shot. Here are four things other cities could copy from us.
French billionaire Vincent Bollore’s push into electric vehicles has been a huge success, at least in terms of publicity and eye-catching contracts. For investors, it hasn’t worked out so well.
