These are transport devices that have been in the sights of the town hall of Paris for a while. Parisians will be able to vote on whether or not to maintain self-service scooters in the capital, during a vote organized on Sunday April 2, PS mayor Anne Hidalgo announced in an interview with readers of the Parisian, posted Saturday, January 14.
What is the purpose of this referendum?
Between accidents and users traveling in pairs or on the sidewalks, strewn with poorly parked scooters, Paris is wondering about the “cost/benefit ratio” of scooters, as well as their “environmental cost”, had indicated David Belliard, l Assistant for Mobility and Roads.
The debate does not concern private scooters for which there is “no problem”, says Anne Hidalgo. It is about self-service, or free-floating, who “is not green” and whose “employees of these companies are not properly protected” on the social level, she argues. According to figures from operators, scooter users are rather young (33 years old on average) and local (85% of residents of Greater Paris).
How will it go?
This simplified referendum will be done “in the polling stations”, “on the basis of electoral files”. He will have to “answer a very simple question: do we continue or not with self-service scooters?”, Explained the elected socialist, while the town hall of Paris initially wanted to propose the non-renewal of the contract with operators on the grounds, in particular, of poor security for users.
What will be the consequences of the vote?
The ex-PS candidate for the presidency leans for “that we stop”. “But I will respect the vote of the Parisians”, she underlined with of the Parisian. A recent consultation of the citizens of the capital showed that the subject was “very divisive”, according to Anne Hidalgo. With this possible ban, a total of 800 jobs would be at stake, according to the operators.
Why are scooters a safety concern?
Electric scooters? “It’s cumbersome, it’s dangerous,” said environmentalist David Belliard on Twitter, who chose the no side to “appease our streets and sidewalks”. “We have too many negative feedbacks”, summarizes the deputy mayor to AFP. “A lot of people feel insecure when they’re on the sidewalk, and part of that has to do with self-service e-scooters,” the cyclist adds. with RTL.
According to unpublished figures communicated by the police headquarters to L’Express at the end of 2022, over the first eight months of last year, 337 accidents involving a motorized personal transport device were listed. These accidents resulted in one death and 373 injuries (+ 38.52% compared to the same period in 2021) including 278 victims among users of these machines (+ 39.70%). In 2021, the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR) reported 1,360 injuries and 24 deaths throughout France linked to the use of this means of transport.
To save their place in one of the most visited cities in the world, a very symbolic market, the operators had formulated eleven proposals at the end of November 2022 in order to reinforce the safety of users and pedestrians, and better integrate the machines into the space. audience. Among these, a license plate to facilitate the verbalization of users who burn out the lights or drive in pairs.