In an effort partially intended to curb vehicle congestion and pollution in the French capital, city hall has rolled out a scheme to offer more than 20,000 bicycles at more than 1000 stations around Paris. Tourists and locals alike can take part in the program, which will operate on a swipe-card system, and is free of charge for the first 30 minutes of every journey.

Advertising giant JCDecaux won the highly sought-after 10-year contract on Tuesday, agreeing to provide the bicycles by the start of the 2007 summer tourist season and to pay the city Ä3.5 million per year in exchange for extensive marketing space around Paris.

Members of city council critical of the scheme have publicly expressed doubt that the firm can provide the bicycles and infrastructure within the promised timeframe. JCDecaux has operated a similar program since 2005 in the French city of Lyon, which officials say has been successful in reducing the level of motor transport.

Since his election in 2001, mayor Bertrand Delanoe has made extensive additions to Paris’ network of bicycle lanes, though a number of groups insist improvement is still needed. He has also increased the number of bus lanes and widened sidewalks in order to encourage alternative means of transport as the city attempts to cope with heavy congestion along its famously wide avenues.

Paris hopes to learn from the failures and successes of other cities. The free city biking trend has been adopted in a number of European cities such as Helsinki, Copenhagen and Milan. The scheme has matured since it began in Amsterdam in the late 1960’s, where it experienced high levels of theft and disorganization. Bicycles from that program have been found as far away as the U.S. and Russia.

Since beginning the City Bike plan in 2000, Danish officials have reported a 30% decrease in bicycle theft in Copenhagen. Newer programs include a number of theft-discouraging steps such as pre-registration and requiring a small, usually fully refundable, deposit.

While JCDecaux has promised to have patrons pedaling around Paris by summer, city officials, perhaps aware of the impossibility of the timeline, say we’ll see the scheme in full swing by year-end.