Parisians vote to remove free-floating electric scooters from streets
Parisians voted on Sunday against renewing the licences of free-floating electric scooter operators in the city, making Paris the first European capital to completely ban such service.
89% of the city's registered voters cast their ballots against electric scooters operated by Lime, Tier and Dott.
Sunday's polls were marked by an abstention rate of 90%, local media reported, and the scooter operators claimed that two-thirds of their mostly young clientele were unaware of the ballot.
Paris city officials considered banning the 15,000 rental electric scooters due to concerns about public safety on the city's sidewalks, despite proposals from operators to improve safety regulations.
Deputy mayor David Belliard, a green party politician in charge of transport in Paris, said on Twitter he was against renewing the licences of the scooter operators despite safety assurances because the nuisances caused by scooters now outweigh the advantages to the city.
Citing Paris police figures, Belliard said the electric scooters were responsible for three deaths and 459 injuries in 2022, a 42% rise compared to 2020.
He added that the scooters, called "trottinette" in French, end up being obstacles to pedestrians, as many are haphazardly left on the streets, blocking passageways.
Belliard also raised doubts about the scooters' ecological advantages, with unrecyclable lithium batteries having a short life span.
Cities worldwide are tightening regulations on e-scooters, limiting the number of operators and limiting their speed and the number of areas where they can park.
Electric scooters accessed through smartphone apps have operated in Paris since 2018, but following complaints about their anarchic deployment, Paris in 2020 cut the number of operators to three. It gave them a three-year contract, required that scooters' speed be capped at 20 km/hour and imposed designated scooter parking areas.
Operators have offered further regulations, including ID checks to make sure users are over 18, fixing licence plates to scooters so police can identify traffic offenders, and preventing the carrying of more than one passenger.
The free-floating electric scooters must be removed from Paris's streets by August 2023.
Reuters
