An opposition as overwhelming as abstention: Parisians voted Sunday, April 2 at 89.03% against self-service electric scooters which, accused of “nuisance”, will have disappeared from the roadway of the capital in five months. Just over 100,000 people (103,084), or 7.46% of Parisians registered on the electoral lists, took part in this unprecedented “vote”. A ballot deemed unrepresentative by the three operators of electric scooters, Dott, Lime and Tier Mobility, who “take note” of the result and confirm that their service “will not be renewed from September 1”.
The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had undertaken “to purely and simply respect the result”. She herself had campaigned for the vote “against”, stressing that the eviction of these scooters would reduce “nuisances” on the asphalt and sidewalks of her city. After welcoming them in 2018, Paris will therefore become the first European capital to completely ban these self-service two-wheelers, at the end of the contracts linking the city to the three private operators. “On September 1, there will be no more self-service scooters in Paris,” confirmed Anne Hidalgo, announcing the results in the evening.
The mayor hailed a “beautiful day for participatory democracy, which is much better than democracy of opinion and poll democracy”. “One hundred thousand voters is something very positive and very encouraging, especially at a time when democracy is not going well,” she said, already planning a new vote in the spring of 2024, which could bring together “several questions” to be defined.
“The mobilization could have been broader and more representative”
On the other hand, the opponents of the municipality did not fail to judge the participation much too low for the mayor to be happy. “The Parisians have shown their deep disinterest in the vote […] organized by Anne Hidalgo”, mocked the municipal right in a press release. Paris councilor Pierre-Yves Bournazel (Horizons) denounced “the lack of commitment of the municipal executive” for this consultation.
Deploring that the ballot is only organized in about twenty places in the capital, the scooter operators had unsuccessfully demanded an electronic vote, more mobilizing among young people, their first clientele.
“The mobilization could have been broader and more representative if the methods of the vote had been different: more polling stations, electronic voting, municipal information”, estimated the three private operators in a joint press release. “The result of this vote will have a direct impact on the movements of 400,000 people per month,” they warned. Without forgetting to specify that it will also have consequences on the city’s finances, since the three rental companies paid it some 930,000 euros annually.
Social consequences
These companies, which manage 15,000 scooters between them, have tried everything to escape the eviction, fearing that it will send a negative signal to medium-sized cities reluctant to authorize this service. Including with controversial methods, such as the offer of a free race on Sunday and the use of influencers on social networks to mobilize their young clientele. “Legally”, defended Nicolas Gorse, general manager of Dott France.
Operators have also warned of the economic consequences of a ban, the scooter rental business in Paris representing 800 jobs. “From now on, our priority as responsible employers is to ensure the future of our employees,” said the three operators on Sunday evening. Dott, Lime and Tier Mobility now hope for “a rapid resumption of dialogue with the Town Hall in order to discuss the next steps” and specify that they will continue “to offer electric bicycle rental services” in Paris. The city of Paris will “work with them on the social aspects” of the file, assured the deputy mayor for transport, David Belliard.
Electric scooters are accused by their detractors of being abandoned anywhere in the public space, of brushing pedestrians on the sidewalks at full speed, or of having a bad carbon footprint.
Dangerous when mishandled, these two-wheelers – whether self-service or not – were involved in 408 accidents in Paris in 2022, in which three people died and 459 were injured, according to authorities. “We are satisfied” with the vote, reacted to AFP Arnaud Kielbasa, co-founder of Apacauvi, an association which defends the victims of scooter accidents. Because, for him, “self-service is very accident-prone and very polluting”, and “incompatible with dense cities like Paris”.