Paris has become the largest city to ban shared electric scooters citywide, with nearly 90% of voters supporting the move in a referendum held on Sunday. The result means that Lime, Dott, and Tier, the three companies operating 15,000 scooters in the city, will not have their contracts renewed when they expire on September 1. Mayor Anne Hidalgo had initiated the referendum due to concerns about the use of public space and the number of scooter-related accidents. Turnout for the vote was just under 8%, with around 103,000 voters. The city intends to submit a referendum question to voters every spring.
Lime, Dott, and Tier, the three companies that provide shared electric scooters in Paris, released a joint statement claiming that the low turnout and the "very restrictive voting methods" used in the referendum skewed the results in favor of older voters. The companies also stated that the result of the referendum would directly affect the travel of 400,000 monthly riders, 71% of whom are Parisian residents between the ages of 18 and 35, and would hinder sustainable transportation in the city before the 2024 Olympics. The companies had launched a campaign with TikTok influencers and offered free rides to encourage young people to vote. Only one polling site was open in all but one district, compared to dozens in municipal and general elections.
The electric scooter rental companies, Lime, Dott, and Tier, had previously expressed that they were open to regulation rather than an outright ban. Since their arrival in Paris in 2018, local authorities have implemented measures such as creating parking zones, reducing the number of operators to three, imposing speed limits, installing license plates, and introducing age verification. Despite these efforts, local representatives have continued to view shared scooters as a nuisance and voiced concerns about reckless riders. France's national government also intends to tighten regulations for shared scooters, with Transport Minister Clément Beaune announcing a plan to set a minimum user age of 14 and increase fines for those caught riding two aboard.