The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced this Saturday the convening of a popular consultation for next April 2 to decide whether or not to allow electric scooter rental companies to maintain this service.
This simplified referendum will be held at the polling stations «on the basis of the electoral roll» and with a specific question: «Do we continue or not with self-service scooters?», explained the Cadiz-born in statements to ‘Le Parisien’.
Hidalgo is inclined to «stop», «but I will respect the vote of the Parisians», she stressed, since the most recent polls point to a deep division.
In September, City Hall warned Lime, Dott and Tier — some 15,000 vehicles in all — that it would not renew their contract, which expires at the end of March.
Against the scooters, users who ride in pairs, run traffic lights or ride on the sidewalk, added to accidents and improperly parked scooters. David Belliard, head of Mobility of the City Council, questions the «cost-benefit ratio» and its «environmental cost».
Hidalgo has clarified that the debate does not affect private scooters, for which «there is no problem», but the rental scooters, which «is not green» and whose companies «do not properly protect their employees» from the social point of view.
According to the operators’ figures, scooter users are rather young, with an average age of 33, and local, 85 percent residing in Greater Paris.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
