Paris residents will have their say on whether electric scooter rentals should remain in the city through a poll on Sunday. Currently, three rental companies provide approximately 15,000 e-scooters to both tourists and locals. However, the scooters have been the source of accidents and chaos on the city’s sidewalks, leading to calls for a ban on them. The license for the rental companies expires at the end of August, and the result of the citizen survey will be announced on Sunday evening.
E-scooters have also been problematic in German cities, prompting many municipalities to declare war on the parking chaos caused by them. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has initiated the Parisian survey and would like the rental of e-scooters in the city to be stopped altogether due to their lack of environmental friendliness and inadequate protection for rental company employees. The mayor indicates that private use of e-scooters will not be restricted.
Despite the mayor’s view, the survey is binding, irrespective of participation. Given that every month, around 400,000 people use the “Trottinettes,” as e-scooters are called in French, and 1.7 million trips were taken with the scooters in October alone, the decision is of immense importance.
E-scooter rental companies have taken note of the concerns, tightening rules to avert an impending ban. Registration now requires users to scan their ID to ensure only adults can use the scooters and to identify and ban hooligans more easily. Improvements, such as e-scooters for the disabled and technology to locate scooters lying on sidewalks quickly, are also being considered should the license be extended.
Paris is considered the most crucial city for micro-mobility with small electric-powered vehicles, with Les Échos reporting that if Paris imposes a ban, other cities could follow.
