Paris To Vote On Banning Rental E-Scooters

The mayor of Paris has announced plans to hold a vote on 2nd April this year on whether rental e-scooters should be banned from the streets of the French capitol.

Paris has several e-scooter operators who have approximately 15,000 rental scooters on the streets for hire via a smartphone app. Their use in the city has long been contraversial with well publicised issues such as inconsiderate use by riders, inconsiderate parking once the rental has ended and even a number being thrown into the Seine

The case for e-scooters and micrmobility in general has been made over and over with the benefits being obvious. These include reduced pollution and traffic, cheaper transport for those who don’t need a car and reduced journey times when users are not stuck in traffic. Rideables.org has pointed out these benefits numerous times during our radio and TV appearances and whilst these have not been disputed there are concerns from charities about antisocial use of micro mobility where devices are used on pavements. Rental firms in Paris were asked to come up with ways of curbing these problems  last year and potential solutions are now being implemented however the vote is due to take place in a couple of months.

Rideables.org has constantly sought to convey the message that private owners and users of micromobility are less likely to cause these issues. They would certainly not leave them inconsiderably parked on the pavement and obviously wouldn’t throw them in the Thames. Its been very difficult to get this message across to the UK government who seem focused only on rental schemes and sadly we seem no nearer to legalisation in any form in the UK.

In an interview with Le Parisian the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo confirmed that privately owner e-scooters were not included within the referendum, they are “not a problem” she said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/15/parisians-to-vote-on-banning-e-scooters