The Paris Velib' bike sharing system is in trouble. Despite being the largest such system in any city, Velib' is suffering problems of theft and vandalism. Will Velib' survive to be Paris' "civilizing force" as Mayor Bertrand Delanoë hoped it would be?

Over half the original fleet of 15,000 specially made bicycles have disappeared, presumed stolen.

They have been used 42 million times since their introduction but vandalism and theft are taking their toll.

The company which runs the scheme, JCDecaux, says it can no longer afford to operate the city-wide network.

Out of 20,000 bicycles, 7800 have disappeared and 11,600 vandalized. They repair 1500 bikes a day, almost 10% of the fleet.

What makes Velib' different from other systems, which don't appear to be having such large theft problems? Seems to me this isn't the end of Velib'; they'll figure something out. Perhaps better security, cameras, or something. Perhaps the city will take it over and run it like a proper public service, much like New York City was forced to take over and consolidate the privately owned subway lines.