Parisians said “no” to self-service electric skateboards

First modification: 04/03/2023 – 04:26

It’s official: from September 1, the three companies that have lease contracts for electric skateboards with Paris will stop providing their service, a scenario chosen by 103,084 people out of the more than 1.1 million called to vote.

Although this referendum called by Mayor Anne Hidalgo has no legal value and is only of an advisory nature, it eliminates a reality that the city had already had since 2018 and makes Paris the first European capital to completely ban these self-service two-wheeled vehicles. .

“From September 1 there will be no more self-service scooters in Paris (…) This is a beautiful day for democracy of opinion and democracy of polls,” said Mayor Hidalgo at 11:00 p.m. local time, when she announced the results to the local press.

Why was Paris debating the elimination of skateboards?

Hidalgo decided to call a referendum for citizens after months of complaints against electric skateboards.

The citizens argued that they were more prone to fatal accidents on the roads, that the skateboards were abandoned in any part of the public space; some claimed that those who used the scooter they constantly brushed against pedestrians on the sidewalks, while going at the maximum possible speed and some organized citizens took refuge in the 408 accidents that were recorded in 2022, in which three people died and 459 were injured.

Another of the arguments for burying electric skateboards was that many people said they felt discriminated against even by the companies that provide the service. For example, in various advertising campaigns texts such as “on skateboard or on foot” were read, a message that migrants found derogatory and citizens who did not agree to have the money to take the scooter. Others debated about the impact of the carbon footprint in the future.

“We are satisfied, self-service is something that brings many accidents and is very polluting. This service is actually incompatible with cities as chaotic as Paris, and even worse in the conditions we are currently in,” Arnaud Kielbasa, co-founder of Apacauvi, an association that defends victims of skateboard accidents, told Reuters.

And it is that the messages, a little desperate, by the skateboard companies, intensified in the last six months through controversial announcements such as the offer of a free race on Sundays or the excessive use of influencers young people who through social networks tried to convince Parisians of the importance of this service.

Economic impact after the decision

Before the referendum was called, the three scooter operators unsuccessfully demanded an electronic vote so that young people, who are their largest clientele, could easily access the vote. The three companies stated in a joint statement this Sunday that “having only 21 polling stations in all of Paris” was not appropriate to make a high-impact decision for the French capital.

“The mobilization could have been broader and more representative if the voting methods had been different: more polling stations, electronic voting, municipal information. The result of this vote will have a direct impact on the movements of 400,000 people per month,” they stated in the statement.

And it is that between the three companies, they provided 800 jobs for the city, supplied 15,000 electric skateboards for the daily use of Parisians and contributed 930,000 euros per year to the French capital.

From now on, our priority as responsible employers is to ensure the future of our employees”, said the three operators on Sunday night.

The City Council “will work with them on the social aspects” of the file, assured the Deputy Mayor for Transport, David Belliard.

With AP, Reuters and local media