The episode in detail
Altis Play: from daily bike commuting to analysing cycling infrastructure
Altis Play is a YouTube creator who films and analyses Paris’s cycling infrastructure. A former web developer, he started out filming his bike commutes between the 19th arrondissement and Saint-Cloud, 16 kilometres a day. What began as a protective reflex after yet another incident became a systematic analysis. His editorial line has shifted: he no longer settles for showing conflicts between road users, he traces the problem back to its source, that is, the infrastructure itself.
The bike as the logical answer to getting around Paris
Altis didn’t come to cycling out of ecological conviction. A panic attack on public transport left him with a phobia. He needed an alternative. The bike won out on logic: faster, more reliable, cheaper. He started with Vélib’ for short trips, then bought his own bike once the distance grew.
“I have never arrived late, after several years of doing this. Despite punctures, despite other things, I’ve always managed to arrive on time.”
The ecological angle came later, through documenting his journeys and doing research. He stands by a factual approach: the bike isn’t an activist choice, it’s the most efficient mode of transport for getting around Paris. He refuses to turn it into a dogma: when it rains all day, he takes public transport or a taxi. The bike is a tool, not a religion.
Analysing infrastructure to reduce conflicts between road users
At first, Altis filmed other road users’ dangerous behaviour. Then he understood that most conflicts aren’t intentional. A driver badly parked on a cycle track has often found no other option. A pedestrian on a cycle lane doesn’t always know they’re in the way. The problem lies further upstream: poorly designed infrastructure generates the conflicts.
“I always start from the principle that if a road user has done something, they didn’t do it deliberately to harm me. There’s perhaps another source behind that problem.”
When he approaches a road user breaking the rules, Altis follows a four-step protocol: introduce himself, point out the danger, suggest a solution, say thank you. This method works far better than confrontation. He works with local associations such as MDB (Mieux se Déplacer à Bicyclette, getting around better by bike) to pass problems on to local authorities. He describes himself as a whistleblower, not an expert.
Temporary cycle tracks: a proof of concept for city cycling
Altis is enthusiastic about the temporary cycle tracks. For the first time, the bike was treated as a real mode of transport, not a leisure activity. But he also welcomes their temporary nature: it allows for iterating before making things permanent.
“It’s a proof of concept. Sometimes they realised that putting a 30 km/h zone on a slope doesn’t work.”
The Gambetta example illustrates the process: two one-way cycle tracks, then a two-way cycle track, then further changes. Altis notes a lack of consistency between Paris’s cycling layouts and a shortfall in listening to users. He recommends more on-the-ground surveys and closer collaboration between local authorities and associations.
The Vélopolitain: cycle tracks that follow the metro
Altis follows the Vélopolitain project closely, launched by the associations Paris en Selle and MDB. The idea: build a network of safe cycle tracks that follow the routes of the metro lines. Line 4, for example, links Porte de la Villette to Porte d’Orléans, crossing the whole of Paris.
“What’s needed is very clear routes that allow safe travel from point A to point B with no break at all.”
Continuity is the key word. A cycle track that breaks off in the middle of a boulevard loses all its use. The Vélopolitain aims for routes that are easy to understand and continuous, like the metro network every Parisian knows.
It’s not up to cyclists to take up the bike, it’s up to cities to make it accessible
Altis refuses to make non-cyclists feel guilty. As long as the car remains the best mode of transport for a given trip, he won’t recommend the bike. It’s up to local authorities to create the conditions that make the bike faster, safer and more practical than the alternatives. Altis’s advice for beginners: study your route, check that safe infrastructure exists, and compare modes of transport objectively. Bike commuting isn’t a sacrifice. It’s a rational choice when the conditions are in place.
