Rental e-scooters have been banned from the streets of Paris due to a vote made in a referendum on Sunday, the referendum was organized by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
Paris residents voted 89% against keeping shared e-scooters in the city. The three companies that pay for contracts to operate in the city will have to pull their fleets out of the city by the 1st September. The companies have a total of 15,000 e-scooters.
Although 89% favoured the ban, under 8% of those who were eligible had turned out to vote. Of the 1.38 million people on the city’s electoral register, just over 103,000 took part. Of these, over 91,300 voted against the scooters.
Paris was originally very receptive towards e-scooters and Hidalgo has pushed for Paris to become a more livable city. The mayor has encouraged policies that reclaim parking spots from cars to create new bike lanes and pedestrian friendly areas. However, many have complained of their reckless driving and clutter on sidewalks.
On Sunday, Hidalgo said the scooters are the cause of a lot of accidents and that the business model was too expensive to be sustainable, with a 10-minute ride costing about €5. She also said free-floating scooters aren’t as climate friendly as she would like.
The ban will not have an effect on the e-bikes offered by shared micromobility companies, which will remain in the city. Also, privately owned scooters are not affected by the ban.
