Indy gets glimpse at electric cars soon coming to city

By Andi TenBarge
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The Bolloré Group and Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard unveiled the 100 percent electric vehicles that soon be on city streets as part of a new car sharing service called BlueIndy.

The Bolloré Group unveiled new Blue Indy cars that will be part of a new car sharing service later this year in Indianapolis. Photo by Andi TenBarge, TheStatehouseFile.com
The Bolloré Group unveiled new Blue Indy cars that will be part of a new car sharing service later this year in Indianapolis. Photo by Andi TenBarge, TheStatehouseFile.com
The Bolloré Group is to invest $35 million in the project, which will make Indianapolis the largest electric car sharing service in the country. Within eight months, the BlueIndy service will provide 500 electric vehicles and 200 service locations fitted with 1,000 charging stations to Indianapolis.

“From now on, residents and visitors of Indianapolis will be able to drive around without owning a car and without emitting greenhouse gases or particulate matter,” Ballard said.

For the first time, the Bolloré Group will export outside of France its end-to-end electric car sharing solution. The service is based on the successful Autolib’ in Paris, Bluely in Lyon and Bluecub in Bordeaux, which complement public transportation offerings and improve French citizens’ mobility.

“It gets the brand name of Indianapolis out there. I want Indianapolis to be seen as cutting edge and Bolloré Group has had this service that has been wildly successful,” Ballard said. “They are extremely committed to making this work because they want to take this to other places in America.”