Did you like renting an electric scooter for your trips to Paris? You will now have to change your habits. Since September 1, the 15,000 electric scooters from private operators Lime, Dott and Tier have been removed from the sidewalks of the capital.
This decision follows a popular vote on April 2, 2023, where Parisians expressed their wish to ban these means of travel deemed both dangerous and cumbersome. Thus, Paris has become the first European capital to completely ban these self-service machines.
Since mid-July, the two-wheelers have been gradually removed from the streets by operators. But what will happen to these scooters?
“There will be no scooter graveyard”
In order to avoid a “scooter cemetery”, according to Hannah Landau, communications director of Lime France, each scooter was collected, stored and repaired to be put back into service. They will be distributed in different European cities where these brands are present.
For Lime, 1,500 green scooters will join the Lille metropolis. “We won a call for tenders with the Lille metropolis. Our scooters will not be in Lille itself, but in the 68 surrounding municipalities. »
As for the rest, they will be sent to Germany to renew the fleet: “It is still our old models that are available in Germany. Parisian scooters are of the latest generation, much more solid and durable. The others will be shipped to London and Copenhagen to reinforce their respective fleets.
At Dott, the process is similar. The removed scooters were repaired, while the most damaged ones were recycled. Dott’s former Parisian fleet will experience a second life in Bordeaux and Brussels, thus meeting growing demand.
For Tier, a third of scooters will remain in Île-de-France, where they are still authorized in 80 cities. The others will be sent to Germany and Poland.
Even the most damaged scooters are not lost, explains Erwann Le Page, director of public affairs at Tier: “97% of the parts of our scooters are interchangeable”. They will therefore be dismantled and recycled.
The bikes still present
Faced with this ban, operators are now turning to bicycles. “In 2022, the demand for bicycles in Paris has increased by 73%. We have therefore expanded our fleet from 7,000 to 10,000 bicycles, ”explains Lime’s communications director.
Tier also plans to increase its fleet of bicycles if demand is there and an agreement is reached with the Paris City Hall: “We can consider increasing our fleet of bicycles. But we must be careful not to create the same frustration among Parisians as for scooters. So we have to find a balance.”