Parisians have overwhelmingly decided that electric scooters should disappear from the streets. Although only a small percentage of Parisians turned up in a binding referendum, the mayor promised to embrace the result.
The vote was attended by some 103,000 residents (7.46 per cent), and was watched with interest across Europe. More than 89 percent of voters voted in favor of the ban. Electric shared cars should be gone from the city within five months.
Paris is the first European capital to take shared scooters off the streets again. “On September 1, there will be no more self-service scooters in Paris,” said Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo. She called on the population in advance to vote in favor of the ban. The scooters are often randomly placed on the street, sometimes plowing past pedestrians and are not at all as environmentally friendly as they are supposed to be.
15,000 steps in the city
However, proponents of e-steps don’t think the result is representative, because so few people came out to vote. “The Parisians have shown that they are not interested in this issue at all,” said one of the right-wing parties. It states that 400,000 residents will now have to look for alternative transportation.
The three companies that offer 15,000 e-scooters in the city have long tried to fight the ban. They fear it will affect other cities in France and possibly elsewhere in Europe. In France in particular, there has been a heated debate about shared scooters recently.
Last week, the minimum age was raised to 14 and fines for misconduct on motorbikes increased dramatically, because the country has to deal with many accidents and inconveniences. In Paris alone, e-scooters were involved in 408 accidents last year, killing 3 people and injuring 459 people.
It is still banned in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, most e-scooters are prohibited from being used on public roads. Apart from some tests, it is not offered here as a form of public transportation. New legislation is expected to come into force in January 2024, which should better regulate electric vehicles. Great Britain also has strict rules for e-scooters. They are allowed in most other European countries and are widely available for short trips, especially in cities.
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