Paris will become the first European capital put a ban on rental e-scooters after 90% of voters favoured the motion.
The ban applies to rental e-scooters from the three companies with licences to operate in Paris — Tier, Dott, and Lime. These micro-mobility companies, with a combined fleet of roughly 15,000 e-scooters in the city, have been given until September 1 to remove their scooters from the streets of Paris.
In April, the city underwent a referendum on the micro-mobility vehicles and received a result of over 90% of voters in favour of the ban.
In 2018, Paris introduced the use of e-scooters to the city as part of a micro-mobility experiment. Five years later, the scooters have now been rejected by the city and have been packed away after much controversy.
Politicians have warned of safety concerns over the scooters for years, as well as reporting problems with stress to pedestrians and city streets being clogged up by parked scooters. There have also been doubts over how sustainable the mode of transport really is.
The ban will not affect shared e-bike services in the city. The ban also won’t prohibit people from using their privately-owned e-scooters in Paris. Dott, Tier, and Lime will now reportedly focus their efforts on e-bikes, to fill the gap in the market left by the ban.
“We now operate twice the number of e-bikes than we ever did e-scooters, and are encouraged by the city’s continued support for cycling ahead of the 2024 Olympics,” Lime told CNBC.
