PARIS - Paris is considering banning its 15,000 rental electric scooters due to concerns about public safety on the city’s sidewalks, but operators are proposing a series of improvements in the hope of getting their licences renewed.
Deputy mayor David Belliard, a green party politician in charge of transport in Paris, told Le Parisien newspaper last week that the nuisances caused by scooters now outweigh the advantages to the city. In 2021, 24 people died in scooter-related accidents in France, including one in Paris. This year, Paris registered 337 accidents with e-scooters and similar vehicles in the first eight months of the year, from 247 over the same period in 2021.limiting the number of operators and limiting their speed and the number of areas where they can park.
Operators have offered further regulations, including ID checks to make sure users are over 18, fixing licence plates to scooters so police can identify traffic offenders, and preventing the carrying of more than one passenger.