A recent non-binding referendum on whether or not e-scooters should be banned in Paris saw more than 103,000 Parisians turn out to vote, with more than 91,300 opting in favour of the ban.
Nearly 90% of participants chose to ban the use of e-scooters in the city though, overall, less than eight percent of Paris’ 1.38-million strong electorate turned out to vote.
Road safety campaigners have benefitted from the result, which was called due to a growing number of injuries and deaths related to the use of e-scooters in the French capital.
Initially, the city was pioneering in Europe, being one of the first to adopt the micromobility option, with self-hire e-scooters coming to Paris in 2018. The vehicles use GPS technology to restrict use outside of certain areas and are equipped with speed-limiting technology.
However, concerns have mounted over certain e-scooter driving behaviours, with speeds being reported at up to 17mph (27km/h). Other concerns have related to young children being able to legally hire e-scooters and irresponsible parking that has led to cluttered pavements.
Such complaints led to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo calling the vote. On the referendum, she said: “I’m committed to respecting the choice of voters, purely and simply…The Parisians who spoke overwhelmingly spoke out against self-service scooters.
“Their very clear message now becomes our roadmap. With my team, we will follow through on their decision as I promised.”
Overall, in 2022 three deaths and 459 injuries were directly attributed to the use of e-scooters in Paris. This was an increase from 2021, which saw one death and 353 injuries connected to the vehicles.
Micromobility operators such as Lime, Dott and Tier used social media to encourage young Parisians to vote against the ban and offered a free day of riding.
