Parisians bikes
Parisians get paid to switch to bikes

Paris is paying citizens to abandon their cars and switch to bikes in a desperate bid to reduce health-damaging air pollution in the metropolis.

Ditching your car gets you almost $1000 worth of transportation access in public transport, bike share and car share.

If you buy an e-bike the city will pay you $650 in cash. An e-bike conversion kit gets you the same payout.

If you buy a cargo bike, you take home the bike and up to a $1000. You won’t need the car to bring home the case of wine any longer.

If you join the Velib bike share program, you start with a credit of $80.

The subsidies are all part of a strategy to bring clean air flowing back into the French capital.

Paris, like many European cities, is struggling to meet the mandatory clean air standards. Desperate measures are called for, and are being implemented.

And it is not just cars. Motor cycles and scooters are a major source of pollution and city authorities are out to get rid of them.

So, swapping you motorised two wheeler for an ebike will get you $650.

And while some Australian governments are providing incentives for first time drivers to get their own car keys, Paris is doing the opposite.

Any Parisian under 30 who gets their car licence for the first time gets both a half-price subscription to car share and an $80 credit for bike share.

Even business vehicles are under pressure.

There are attractive incentives for electric small delivery vans, and for light trucks that are electric, CNG or hydrogen, and for large trucks and buses.