The referendum was open to 1.38 million registered voters in the municipality, but more than 100,000 people voted, a move criticized by the companies that own the service.
Paris citizens voted to ban electric scooters from the city in September in a municipal consultative vote attended by 103,000 people, President Anne Hidalgo said.
According to the mayor of Paris, the results of the poll were “very clear”, with 89% of the votes rejecting the presence of scooters in the French capital. “From September 1 there will be no more rental scooters in Paris,” Hidalgo said, adding that the city’s contracts with the three companies responsible for the service expire in August.
The referendum was open to 1.38 million registered voters in the municipality, but more than 100,000 people voted, a move criticized by the companies that own the service. “The result is based on only about 100,000 votes, which equates to 7.46% electoral participation,” said a spokesperson for TIER, adding that the results allow a small group of people to gain “proportional influence.” In the urban mobility system of the city.
In the same vein, in a joint statement, companies Lime, Dott and TIER accused the municipality of using controlled voting systems.
“We regret that Parisians are missing out on a shared and green transport option. This is a setback for sustainable transport in Paris,” they added.
Despite the results, the subject of scooters still divides Parisians between those who see them as a traffic hazard in the city and those who see them as fulfilling a real need.
President Anne Hidalgo and her party’s municipal representatives had already campaigned to ban scooter rentals, which they considered “free-floating” because they were left unchecked by the city.
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