France. Paris has had enough. Electric scooters are to disappear from the city for minutes

Electric scooters for minutes appeared in Paris in 2018, but two years later the city authorities decided to limit the number of operators operating in the city to only three. Now, however, Parisians want to completely get rid of two-wheelers from the streets.

Paris will ditch electric scooters. “Victory of Local Democracy”

This is the result of the referendum held in the French capital on Sunday. The authorities of Paris allowed the inhabitants to decide on the future of controversial vehicles. How, as much as 89 percent. of voters were in favor of a complete ban on renting two-wheelers by the minute. Anne Hidalgo, the current mayor of Paris, announced that she would respect the results of the referendum and take steps in accordance with the wishes of the Parisians. On Twitter, she thanked residents for participating in the vote, which she called “a victory for local democracy.”

She also emphasized that the end of scooters for minutes will come on September 1 this year. It is then that the three-year period that allows companies from the industry to operate in the city under the current rules ends. The regulations currently in force include: the speed limit for electric two-wheelers to 20 km/h, the obligation to wear reflectors and the obligation to leave vehicles in designated parking spaces. There are severe penalties for breaking the rules. Incorrect parking is fined 35 euros, and speeding is up to 1,500 euros –

The operators are going to fight. They propose more restrictive rules

Scooter rental companies by the minute said they wouldn’t leave the city without a fight, while French Transport Minister Clement Beaune (and a possible Paris mayoral candidate) said the vote was a “major democratic flop.” Opponents of the ban cite for the extremely low turnout, which amounted to only 7.46 percent. eligible.

A spokesman for Lime told Reuters that the company hopes to continue talks with the mayor of Paris to adopt legislation that will satisfy both opponents and supporters of e-scooters. Operators propose to impose further regulations, thanks to which their vehicles could stay on the streets of the French capital.

Hundreds of accidents involving scooters

Reuters reminds that the country is struggling with a huge number of accidents involving electric scooters. There were 459 incidents in Paris in 2021, three of which were fatal. Across France, 24 people have died in collisions with electric two-wheelers. Parisians also circulate that scooters are left in random places and make it difficult to use the sidewalks. As Arnaud Kielbasa from the Apacauvi organization, which supports victims of accidents, emphasized in an interview with the AFP agency, the fight to block the activities of companies renting scooters for minutes took four years. In the past, both the activist’s wife and daughter were hit by scooter riders.

If Paris, following the result of the referendum, passes the legislation, it will become one of the first capitals to block the activity of two-wheelers for minutes. This will mean removing 15,000 cars from the streets. vehicles. The ban, however, does not apply to electric bicycles and private electric scooters. As he writes, last year 700,000 were sold throughout France. pieces of the latter.