To make streets safer, Paris outlaws e-scooters

Sunday saw a vote in Paris to outlaw electric scooters from the city’s streets.

90% of voters chose to abolish scooters. Hence they lost the election. According to BBC News, only 8% of those who could have voted did.

When three scooter companies’ contracts are up for renewal in August, the city will let them expire.

The companies claimed that they moved close to 2 million people throughout the previous year throughout the city.

The prohibition was approved despite the operators’ efforts to increase voter turnout. The businesses Dott, Lime, and TIER ran social media campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

They occasionally paid influencers to persuade their target market, the 71% of users in Paris under 35, to cast a ballot.

Those who typed “Je vote”—French for “I vote”—into their smartphone were even given a free round-trip ride.

However, according to BBC News, only 103,000 of the 1.38 million eligible voters showed up at the polls, and more than 91,300 of them cast a “no” ballot.

Women and LGBTQ+ riders frequently use scooters in Paris and feel safer riding them than using other modes of transportation after dark, according to Lime.

According to Lefèvre, Paris was a pioneer in welcoming shared micromobility. It would indeed be an exception if Paris opted to terminate the service.

The devices have raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic about street safety and battery volatility.

In Paris, there have been collisions, at least one of which was fatal. The battery-operated mini-vehicles have recently caused many fires and accidents in New York City.

Further action against the scooters has been demanded by the fire service after 22 fires caused by batteries in the first six weeks of this year alone resulted in at least one death.