Parisians can no longer hop on an electric scooter and whizz through the city to work or a restaurant. Hundreds of thousands of users will be affected when the ban on renting electric scooters now comes into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 15,000 electric scooters have disappeared from the streets of Paris as August turned into September. Rental companies Tier, Dott and Lime have had a busy few days sending out stalls and entertainment stations to other cities where they operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The background is a referendum in April in which a majority of the city's residents said no to continued rental of electric scooters, writes the AFP news agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ban affects nearly 400,000 users a month, according to figures from rental companies. They now have to find another way to get around the city of millions. But going back to public transport and cars does not seem to attract many, according to media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d"I use it (the electric scooter) every day. It saves me from having to take the car when gas is expensive. But now that it's banned, it's more complicated," says frustrated rider Ruben, who doesn't want to give his last name, to radio station Europe 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dSo either I go back to the car, which isn't great for the environment, or I buy my own electric scooter.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Criticism of electric scooters in Paris has been widespread ever since the rental business was established there in 2018. Common arguments are that there is "anarchy", that users drive too fast and do not respect traffic laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Irritation has also been caused by the fact that several people often ride the same scooter and that electric scooters are left in large piles. Accidents, sometimes fatal, have added to the frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fatal accident in 2021, when an Italian woman died after being hit by an electric scooter with a driver and passenger, caused Paris to threaten a ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, three people died and over 450 were injured in accidents in the city. And in July of this year, as many as ten e-scooters died in Paris, a record high, according to data from local authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like in Stockholm, measures have been taken over the years. The number of rental companies in Paris has been reduced to three and the number of vehicles to 15,000. Just over 2,000 bicycle parking spaces have been built to avoid illegal dumping on sidewalks. Speed limits have also been lowered to 10 kilometers per hour in 700 zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it hasn't helped, according to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who made the decision to hold a referendum in April. In the vote, 90 percent were against the electric scooter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hidalgo called the process \u201da victory for local democracy.\u201d However, the result has been rejected by the opposition, among others, because voter turnout was a paltry 7.5 percent, writes AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, completely eliminating e-scooters from the streets of Paris will likely be difficult. Sales to private individuals have increased dramatically in recent years. In 2022, 759,000 e-scooters were sold in France, which was three times more than in 2019, according to Europe 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: TT-DI.SE<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Parisare kan inte l\u00e4ngre hoppa p\u00e5 en elsparkcykel och susa genom staden till jobb eller krog. Hundratusentals anv\u00e4ndare p\u00e5verkas n\u00e4r f\u00f6rbudet mot uthyrning av elsparkcyklar nu tr\u00e4der i kraft. Runt 15.000 elsparkcyklar har f\u00f6rsvunnit fr\u00e5n Paris gator i och med att augusti blivit september. Uthyrningsf\u00f6retagen Tier, Dott och Lime har haft br\u00e5da dagar med att […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":297602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[4930,4928,4931,292,4929],"class_list":["post-297601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turism","tag-dott","tag-elsparkckykel","tag-lime","tag-paris","tag-tirer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n