Paris set to ban rented e-scooters after an overwhelming 90% vote for their removal

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged to ban rented e-scooters from the French capital after a huge majority of residents backed the move.

Scooter operators said they were disappointed with the decision but expressed hope they could negotiate a new regulatory framework to avoid an outright ban.

In a non-binding referendum held on Sunday, 89.03% of 103,084 votes cast were opposed to the freestanding scooters, which are booked on a short-term basis through apps. There were only two options, “for” or “against.”

“Their very clear message now becomes our roadmap,” Hidalgo said in a statement following the vote, later saying in a news conference that the scooters would be gone from Sept. 1, when current agreements with operators expire.

E-scooters launched in Paris in 2018, but in 2020 the number of firms with operating licenses was cut to just three: Lime, Dott and Tier.

The city also added conditions such as a 20 kilometer per hour speed limit and designated scooter parking areas. Customers who leave scooters outside these areas face a fine.

Critics of the scooters say they clutter up pavements and roads, but also raise safety concerns. There were 459 accidents involving e-scooters or similar vehicles in Paris last year, including three fatalities, according to a Reuters report.

Cities around the world have been debating how to regulate or restrict both rented and owned e-scooters, which are popular with tourists and some commuters but considered a nuisance by many locals.

In London, rental scooters are operating on a trial basis until the fall this year, also with Lime, Dott and Tier. After that, “operators will be selected on their ability to meet strict safety requirements and high operating standards,” according to local authorities.

Berlin-based Tier Mobility and San Francisco-based Lime both said they were “disappointed” by the news.

“With approximately 93% of citizens not going to the polls, a large majority of Parisians have shown that e-scooters are not an issue,” Tier said in a statement provided to CNBC.

“Moving away from shared e-scooters also means that Paris is isolating itself from the rest of the world with major capitals like Washington, Madrid, Rome, London, Berlin or Vienna that are all implementing policies supporting e-scooters as ways to reduce unnecessary car usage.”

It added that it remained available to work with authorities on a regulatory framework around e-scooters.

Lime said in a statement: “We remain hopeful that we can continue to work with Mayor Hidalgo to adopt sensible regulations instead of a ban on e-scooters, and avoid a step backward for Paris.”