- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: Rental e-scooter companies will not be licensed to operate in the city from September 1.
- In a poll on Sunday, 90% of Parisians voted to remove the controversial vehicles.
- Tire Mobility, one of three licensed e-scooter operators in Paris, said turnout was low in proportion to the population.
Lime and Dot electric scooters are parked on a sidewalk in Paris, France on March 29, 2023.
Chesnot | Getty Images News | Good pictures
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo vowed to ban rented e-scooters from the French capital after a majority of residents backed the move.
Scooter operators said they were disappointed by the decision, but hoped they could negotiate a new regulatory framework to avoid an outright ban.
89.03% out of 103,084 in an uncontrolled poll conducted on Sunday. votes Actors have said they are opposed to freestanding scooters that are booked on a short-term basis through apps from the city. There were only two options, “For” or “Against”.
“Their very clear message now becomes our roadmap,” Hidalgo said in a statement following the vote to say In a press conference, the scooters will be discontinued from September 1 when the current contracts with the operators expire.
E-scooters launched in Paris in 2018, but in 2020 the number of companies with licenses to operate has been reduced to just three: Lime, Dot and Tire.
It also added conditions such as a 20 kilometer per hour speed limit and designated scooter parking areas. Customers who leave their scooters outside these areas are fined.
Critics of scooters say they clutter sidewalks and roads, but also raise safety concerns. According to a Reuters report, there were 459 accidents involving e-scooters or similar vehicles in Paris last year, including three fatalities.
Cities around the world are debating how to regulate or restrict rented and owned electric scooters, which are popular with tourists and some commuters but considered a nuisance by many locals.
In London, rental scooters are running on a trial basis until autumn this year, and Lime, Dot and Dyre. After that, operators will be “selected based on their ability to meet strict safety requirements and high operating standards,” according to local officials.
Both Berlin-based Tire Mobility and San Francisco-based Lyme said they were “disappointed” by the news.
“With approximately 93% of citizens not going to the polls, a majority of Parisians have shown that e-scooters are not an issue,” Dyer said in a statement to CNBC.
“The shift away from shared e-scooters means Paris is isolating itself from the rest of the world and car use.”
It added that it is still working with authorities on a regulatory framework around e-scooters.
Lime said in a statement: “We hope that we can continue to work with Mayor Hidalgo to replace the ban on e-scooters with sensible regulations and avoid a backlash from Paris.”
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