Residents of Paris, France, voted overwhelmingly to ban rental electric scooters in their city.

 

Residents of Paris, France, voted overwhelmingly to ban rental electric scooters in their city.   While only 8% of the electorate cast votes on Sunday, nearly 90% of those voters supported the e-scooter ban, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1 Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the referendum because she said that rental e-scooters cause "a lot of accidents." There were 459 accidents and three deaths involving e-scooters or similar vehicles in Paris in 2022. Critics say e-scooters are a nuisance, in part because unused scooters are left on sidewalks and parks, in the way of pedestrians and cyclists. Lime, Dott, and Tier — the leading rental e-scooter operators in Paris — offered free rides on Sunday and took to social media to rally support for their side of the vote. They say their vehicles are responsible for a small proportion of traffic accidents in the French capital. Privately-owned scooters will not be affected by the ban.