Adieu to the scooters: Paris bans rental electric scooters

A ban on rental electric scooters has been implemented in Paris due to a surge in accidents and fatalities within the French capital.

Apart from accidents, several Parisians had expressed their concerns about seeing them zigzagging between pedestrians, even when limited to 10 km/h in certain zones, or parking in the middle of pavements.

In April, a vote was held on the matter, with nearly 90% of participants favouring the prohibition.

Paris has now become one of the first major cities to outlaw rented electric scooters, just five years after being among the pioneers in adopting this form of transportation.

The three operators in Paris, Lime, Tier, and Dott, will now lose their authorization to occupy public space. Since August, 15,000 scooters have gradually been removed from the streets, with the last few being cleared on Thursdaynight. 

Euronews reported on Friday that while a handful of scooters will remain in France for repairs, others will be sent out of the country.

Of the 5,000 scooters produced by the German company Tier, only a third will stay, mostly in 80 communes around Marne-la-Vallée or Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The rest will mainly go to Germany. 

Dott will be sending its scooters to Belgium and Tel Aviv. Lime's scooters will go to Lille, London, Copenhagen, and several German cities.