France | Parisians are the first major city to vote to ban electric scooters

Parisians are voting today to ban electric scooters for rent on Sunday. Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo announced the referendum in January.

No major city has banned electric scooters before.

The authorities in Paris have gradually tightened the restrictions on electric scooters and limited, for example, the maximum speed of scooters and the number of operators. Despite this, pedestrians have complained about reckless driving, and the use of scooters has caused several fatal accidents in Paris.

Around the vote, there has also been a discussion about whether the use of electric scooters reduces emissions. However, electric scooter batteries only last about three years.

In 2018, Paris was one of the first cities to introduce electric scooter rentals.

French Minister of Transport Clement Beaune expects the vote to lead to a ban on electric scooters. The operators of electric scooters are also afraid of a negative result from their point of view, unless the mostly young scooter users show up at the polls.

“Many cities in France and elsewhere in the world are following the vote,” Beaune told Europe 1 radio.

According to Beaune, electric scooters are an important form of transportation, as a fifth of trips in Paris are made with them. This means about 100,000 daily journeys.

of Paris on the streets, electric scooters arouse discussion and also fear.

“Electrified kickboards have become my biggest enemy,” the Paris resident Suzon Lambert says.

In Finland, the Ministry of Transport and Communications proposed a blood alcohol limit for electric scooters at the beginning of March. At the same time, parking on sidewalks and bike paths would be prohibited. It would be possible to put the proposed changes in the law into effect by the summer of next year.