9 ° C
Profile

Day: 5 February 2021

Where are the new MonaBike stations? 

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/02/2021

MonaBike will be opening new stations in the coming days in previously underrepresented areas of the Principality, giving better coverage and making the environmentally-friendly alternative to cars all the more appealing.

MonaBike arrived on the scene in July 2019 as a joint venture between the government of Monaco and the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco (CAM) as a way to encourage residents and visitors to use more green modes of transport to get around town.

Over the next few days, they will be adding more bikes and stations, making the system even more convenient.

There are currently 2,100 subscribers who made 342,000 trips in 2020, deeming MonaBike a bonafide success, with quadruple the number of users over the first year. With an average of more than seven trips per bike per day, MonaBike is at the same level as the self-service bicycle systems of large cities.

The popularity of the self-service electric bicycles has been due in part to the regular upgrades to keep them relevant and user-friendly, including the introduction of a smartphone app that allows users to identify the closest bike station and the number of bikes available. MonaBike has also been integrated into the Citymapper app, a digital service that displays transport options with live timing.

Meanwhile, the number of stations where the bikes are available has doubled, and now there will be several additional stations in an effort to service more parts of the Principality.

The price is right as well, with annual subscriptions going for just €72, dropping to €48 if the user is already subscribed to the bus network or a public car park. Occasional customers pay just €18 per month, €6 per week, €2 per day or €1 per trip.

New stations will be gradually installed at the Heliport, in the Ténao tunnel in Saint Roman, Boulevard d’Italie, Boulevard de Belgique near the entrance to the Princess Antoinette Park, avenue de Grande Bretagne, rue des Lauriers and boulevard du Jardin Exotique in front of the École des Révoires.  

The latest upgrades will bring the number of stations to 43 with 390 MonaBikes in circulation.

 

Photo by the Government Communication Department
 
 

Nice bans holiday rentals, boosts controls at airport

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/02/2021

Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has banned seasonal rentals in February and called for greater PCR test controls at the airport in an effort to stem the tide of the Covid pandemic in the hard-hit city.

Mayor Estrosi’s is now inviting the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes to join him and temporarily ban seasonal rentals to discourage visitors from entering the area during the February half-term break.

“Analysis of the wastewater from Nice shows the active circulation since January of the English variant of Covid-19,” said Estrosi via Twitter. “Our health security agency is working with Professor Marquette on sequencing PCR tests to reveal the presence of variants in our territory.

I am now issuing an order prohibiting seasonal rentals in Nice from 6th to 20th February, which corresponds to the first period of the winter vacation and which can be extended. I call on the prefect to take a decision on a larger area.”

The Alpes-Maritimes has been brutally affected by the pandemic, with an incidence rate of 450 cases per 100,000 residents as of 4th February. This is well above the national average in France of 366. The region has also seen a positivity rate of 8% for Covid.

In addition to the rental ban, the mayor would also like to increase controls on travellers arriving in Nice.

“I asked the prefect to step up checks at the airport and in train stations, on the origins of foreign countries particularly affected, and in particular to properly control false negative PCR certificates,” Estrosi said in his video speech. “I first have to protect the people of Nice, it is my responsibility.”

To combat the virus on other fronts, Estrosi’s minister of education announced mass screenings in schools following reports of several cases.

The mayor confirmed that “the city has set up teams to be able to carry out antigen tests on staff and teachers,” adding “for the children, I agreed with the minister of health, because we do not want to traumatise them with nasopharyngeal tests while we are lucky to have a process developed by Professors Marquette and Hoffman at CHU, with saliva tests.”

He has also asked for more vaccine doses to help with the situation because supply is not enough to meet demand. Councillor Anthony Borré says, however, that appointments have yet to be affected.

“Vaccination continues in Nice with the opening of the Nikaia centre. Even though the vaccine supply is insufficient, no appointment has been cancelled. A big thank you to the staff involved,” Borré said on Twitter.

The vaccination situation is made all the worse for the vast number of over-75’s still waiting to get appointments. The Alpes-Maritimes has a large elderly population, 12.5% versus 9% nationally, and the lack of available jabs has become an issue of embarrassment for local authorities.

 

Photo source: Pixabay
 
 

Creating National Councillors of the future

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/02/2021

The National Council of Monaco is appealing to civic-minded young people to apply to become Junior National Councillors, allowing them the chance to take part in the legislative actions that affect the whole community.
Young politicians, deal-makers and those looking to make changes for the better are being asked to apply to the National Council to become part of their new Junior National Council programme.
The young people selected as Junior National Councillors, who will come from grades cinquième to seconde and must be enrolled at a local school, will be invited to join in at the Grand Chambre where their input will go toward making changes in the current government legislation, including drafting resolutions and even possibly originating new bills.
For those interested in applying and who meet the conditions, go to the National Council website at https://www.conseil-national.mc/ where the application is available, and complete it before 21st February.