The City of Paris, together with the Île-de-France region, was the first major European city, which successfully deployed a public electric car-sharing program. The program, named Autolib, was initiated by the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delaone who was searching for another traffic option to complement the city’s much-acclaimed bike sharing service, Velib. Autolib is operated by the Bolloré Group enterprise, which won the contract to develop the service and to supply the area with electric cars and stations. The program started in 2011 with an initial fleet of 250 eco-friendly electric 'Bluecars'. The program today (2015) has more than 3,000 cars operating on the streets of Paris and within the whole region. There are around 860 Autolib stations where users can subscribe, pick up or drop off the cars. As well, there are 4,400 parking spaces and charging points reserved exclusively for ”Bluecars”. Electric car sharing services greatly contribute to the preservation of the environment and facilitate mobility in the bustling city of Paris. Electric 'Bluecars' are silent and have zero emissions locally, and their affordability and popularity continues to prevent more and more people from buying an own car.