Paris to hold public vote on whether to keep rental e-scooters

Paris residents will be invited to vote on whether to allow e-scooter rental services to continue operating in the city, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has said.

Speaking to French news outlet Le Parisien, the mayor labelled e-scooters an “extremely divisive” issue, and said Paris residents would be asked “a very simple question” in a referendum planned for April 2 – “Do we or don’t we continue with free-floating rental scooters?”

The micromobility devices have been a continued source of controversy in the French capital since their introduction, with residents complaining about illegal riding on pavements or abandoned and poorly parked vehicles.

In September, officials warned the three companies operating the city’s 15,000 scooters – Lime, Dott and Tier – that their licences, would be under threat if they failed to limit reckless riding and other “misuses”.

Two months later, the three operators came up with a number of suggested improvements, including equipping the scooters with licence plates that would allow easier tracking of riders running a red light, or travelling in pairs on the single-person vehicles – both common violations.

Industry response

With the city’s e-scooter licences set for renewal this spring, the decision to hold a referendum on the issue has been welcomed by the industry.

In a joint statement shared with Cities Today, the three operators said: “We welcome the decision to consult Parisians regarding the city’s shared e-scooter service, and hope to ensure its continuity over the coming months.

“With more than 2 million unique riders having used the shared e-scooter service in 2022 – and 700 tons of CO2 emissions avoided in 2021 by riding green in the capital – we are convinced that Parisians are aware of the role that zero-emission micromobility options play in helping meet the ambitions set out in the Paris agreements at COP21.

“All the employees of the three operators in the Paris area – 800 in total, all on fixed-term and permanent contracts – take note of this reprieve.

“Lime, Dott and Tier will remain attentive about the terms of this consultation, which seems to state that only inner city Parisian residents will be eligible to vote and those living in city’s suburbs, as well as expats and non-native residents who live in inner city Paris will not be eligible to vote.”

Tightening rules

Several cities across Europe have tightened rules and regulations around e-scooters after mounting concerns about safety and the cluttering of streets.

Last year, Stockholm almost halved the number of scooters available for rent – from around 23,000 to 12,000 – and banned pavement parking.

In June, Rome announced new rules on the use of e-scooters after a number of serious incidents in the city. Authorities restricted e-scooter use to adults with an ID and clamped down on people riding on pavements and scooters with more than one person on board.

A top speed limit of 20 kmph, or 6 kmph in pedestrian areas was also set, along with restrictions on parking, with users required to take a photograph of their vehicle and send it to the operator at the end of their journey.

Other cities, including the Norwegian capital Oslo and the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, have also banned rentals at night in certain areas in an attempt to reduce crashes.

Jacques Paquier (Flickr)