Paris will this week become one of the few cities in Europe with an absolute ban on the rental of e-scooters.
As operators aim to expand their e-bike fleets to replace them in front of the 2024 Olympics, Paris will this week become one of the few cities in Europe with an absolute ban on the rental of e-scooters. The three companies holding operating permits for e-scooters in the French capital, Lime, Dott, and Tier, announced that they would have removed their scooters, or trottinettes, by the September 1 deadline, after earlier expressing hopes for a last-minute reprieve. In the city, they operated a combined fleet of about 15,000 electric scooters. Parisians had the option of voting for or against the rental scooters in an April referendum.
Companies emphasized that only 7% of individuals who were entitled to vote actually participated. Additionally, they claimed that by adopting a green form of transportation that is well-liked by tourists in one of the most travelled cities in the world, the city would be out of step with other urban centers. They emphasize that the regulations governing the use of private e-scooters won't alter.
It happens at a time when cities all around the world are debating whether these vehicles, which can be unlocked via an app and are rented by the minute, are a risk to the general public or the wave of the future for urban mobility. Other French cities, like Marseille and Lyon, will still have shared scooter facilities available.
