Voters in Paris Turn Their Backs on Electric Rental Scooters

An amazing majority of Parisians who took half in a referendum on electrical scooters have voted to ban the gadgets from the streets of the French capital, reflecting exhaustion with a public-transit different that was as soon as seen as handy and climate-friendly however is now largely thought to be harmful and environmentally questionable.

Comparatively few individuals turned out on Sunday for the referendum — solely about 100,000 Parisians voted, lower than 7.5 p.c of these eligible — however those who did forged a poll left little doubt about what they wished: Practically 89 p.c backed the ban.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, a member of the Socialist Social gathering, led the marketing campaign in opposition to the rental scooters, describing them as a “nuisance” within the capital.

Though the referendum, described as a “public session,” was nonbinding, Ms. Hidalgo — who 5 years in the past had backed the unfold of the scooters to chop visitors — mentioned that she was “dedicated to respecting the outcomes of the vote.”

With the operators’ contracts expiring on the finish of August, beginning on Sept. 1, Ms. Hidalgo mentioned, “there shall be no extra self-service scooters in Paris.”

The choice may have implications for different cities, corresponding to Rome, San Francisco and Stockholm, that originally embraced the electrical scooters however have now begun tightening laws.

Paris is among the largest markets for rental scooters on the earth, recording about 20 million journeys in 2022. However in the identical yr, the nationwide highway security division, Sécurité Routière, mentioned that 34 individuals had died and 570 others had been significantly injured in France whereas using an electrical scooter or comparable mobility gadget.

The French Nationwide Academy of Medication additionally weighed in, saying that it thought-about the electrical rental scooters a “main well being downside.”

Ms. Hidalgo has seemed for methods to cut back congestion and handle local weather change, however even supposing the scooters run on electrically charged batteries, their environmental worth got here below scrutiny.

The three corporations that run the scooter rental applications pointed to a city-sponsored examine that discovered the gadgets helped scale back air pollution in Paris, however that very same examine additionally famous that many individuals would have traveled utilizing one other technique with a low carbon footprint.

Metropolis Corridor hailed a “victory for native democracy,” however opposition events, together with President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance, and the three scooter rental corporations denounced what they known as a one-sided vote.

They had been vital that on-line voting — uncommon in France — had not been allowed, arguing that its absence discouraged the participation of youthful voters who had been most probably to make use of the scooters. In addition they complained that the geographic boundaries of who may vote, excluding individuals who stay within the suburbs however spend time within the capital, had been too restrictive.

The scooter operators — the San Francisco-based firm Lime, the Dutch start-up Dott, and the German start-up Tier — tried numerous tacks in campaigning in opposition to a ban. That was partly as a result of they feared a vote to ban the gadgets would ship a adverse sign to different cities that originally embraced the scooters however at the moment are more and more contemplating whether or not the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Earlier than the vote, the businesses working in Paris organized a advertising and marketing marketing campaign primarily based on social-media influencers within the metropolis, and it provided free rides on the day of the referendum to attempt to mobilize younger voters, their core buyer base.

Between them, the three corporations, which rent out their gadgets through smartphone apps and have operated in Paris since 2018, have a complete of about 15,000 scooters zipping across the capital.