Bicycles Everywhere You Look

The last time I was in Paris was back in 2015 and from then till now the change with regard to transportation has blown me away. Coming from a country like South Africa where nothing has changed in decades with regard to transportation this was a real eye opener. These are not small changes, but are seen as small if you are living amongst this as it s a gradual process. Having not been part of it living what is changing you actually see how massive this really is. I find it hard to comprehend because this is all foreign with how I live.

Back in 2015 Paris had recently introduced the public electrical bicycles points that were free of charge for those who lived in the city. I can recall seeing the odd BMW i6 which is a hybrid vehicle but it stood out as it was an eco green vehicle being one of the first to hit the road.

Fast forward 9 years and it seems every vehicle driving around Paris or the vast majority are either hybrid or electric. The bicycle project that had just started in 2015 has grown with over 14 000 rentable electric bikes available today. Everyone seems to cycle and stats show that nearly 20% of the city use this as their main transportation. Nearly 20% of the cars on the road are electric or a hybrid and this includes delivery trucks etc. We know the world is heading this way, but until you physically see it this is all just words.

This is all pat of the plan living the 15 minute lifestyle being within a 15 minute walk of work, home, education and lifestyle. This is not a lifestyle I would embrace as for myself this makes no logical sense. Going green and being eco friendly is a sham when 90% of the products you buy are made using carbon fuels coming from the Far East. If you think you are making a difference you are only kidding yourself. This is the next phase that has to change in order to make the current changes relevant. CBAM is the next phase and why it will change the world economy turning it on it's head.

I am curious to see how the CBAM regulations (Carbon Border Adjusted Mechanism) play out going live in January 2026. We are still 17 months away from this point with so much that needs to still change. Being invested in VeChain and constantly researching this CBAM topic it will be interesting to see how these changes happen which they surely will. You don't start a project without having an end goal in mind and why I believe this is still in it's infancy period and it still needs to the time required.

Paris as a city over the last 9 years has changed so much which it seems are being embraced by a high percentage, but it does come across as a forced embrace through regulation. More changes will obviously happen as this is still a project that has many years to still run and it has been interesting to have seen the differences from then until now.