Paris has been in the news the last few weeks because of protesting and riots over national labor policies, but there’s apparently an even bigger issue facing the residents of the French capital: all those annoying e-scooters littering the sidewalks.
Well, that’s about to change.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is making moves to ban rented e-scooters from the French capital after an overwhelming majority of residents backed the move in a non-binding referendum. With 89 percent of the 103,084 votes cast opposed to the freestanding scooters, Hidalgo said the people’s “very clear message now becomes our roadmap.”
E-scooters were first introduced to Paris in 2018 and proved to be a popular mode of transportation for tourists and some commuters. However, critics have argued that the scooters clutter up pavements and roads, while also raising safety concerns. According to a Reuters report, there were 459 accidents involving e-scooters or similar vehicles in Paris last year, including three fatalities.
Paris isn’t the first major city struggling with e-scooters. In London, rental scooters are operating on a trial basis until the fall of this year with Lime, Dott and Tier. After that, “operators will be selected on their ability to meet strict safety requirements and high operating standards,” according to local authorities.
Berlin-based Tier Mobility shared they were disappointed in Paris’ decision.
“Moving away from shared e-scooters also means that Paris is isolating itself from the rest of the world with major capitals like Washington, Madrid, Rome, London, Berlin or Vienna that are all implementing policies supporting e-scooters as ways to reduce unnecessary car usage.”
It remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached, but for now, it looks like Parisians will be waving goodbye to their rented e-scooters come September 1st.
