France
E-scooter rental in Paris ends – 15,000 scooters are moving
E-scooters became a topic of controversy in Paris because they often blocked sidewalks and put traffic safety at risk. photo
© Michael Evers/dpa
E-scooters are a controversial issue in Paris as in other metropolises. Many see safety endangered by the criss-crossing scooters. Now the rental in Paris is now set.
The fact that only 7.46 percent of the 1.3 million eligible voters took part in the vote was not an obstacle for the city. Irrespective of this, Paris regarded the outcome of the citizens’ survey as binding. It was criticized that the city did not organize an online survey in which more young people who use the scooters more often took part. For the providers of e-scooters, the end in Paris is a heavy blow. E-scooters have been around in Paris since 2018.
In order to avert the impending ban, the scooter rental companies tightened the rules in Paris last December. Users had to scan their ID when registering so only adults could use the scooters and hooligans could be more easily identified and banned from renting. In addition, the scooters were given license plates to make it easier to track traffic violations.
The 15,000 Parisian scooters will not be scrapped under any circumstances. Rather, the distributors move them to other cities, such as Lille, Copenhagen, London or Berlin – and also simply to the suburbs of Paris, where scooters are also rented out. In the French capital, however, the providers are not entirely throwing in the towel; they want to expand the rental of electric bicycles in the future.