2023-08-29 14:58:43
The wheel spins fast. Arriving in the streets of Paris in the summer of 2018, self-service scooters are condemned to disappear from the sidewalks of the capital on September 1, 2023. A look back in five dates on the eventful history of this service which has continued to stir up controversy.
► June 22, 2018: Lime arrives in Paris
Created in January 2017 in the United States, the Lime company tackled the French market a few months later. It will be the first to open in Paris, on June 22, 2018, its self-service scooter rental service.
However, the pioneer will not be alone on stage for long. The following month, the competition arrives with Bird, Bolt or Wind… Arrivals follow one another to such an extent that in 2019 a good fifteen different operators will have deposited their scooters in the streets of Paris, where more than 40,000 machines are then available.
►May 13, 2019: attempt at regulation
This growing stream of scooters piled up on the sidewalks and circulating in the middle of pedestrians delights lovers of “new mobility” but also causes fear and controversy. In an attempt to restore some order, the town hall is pushing the operators to sign a “charter of good conduct”.
On May 13, 2019, they must sign a text in which they “undertake to do everything possible” so that their client respects the Highway Code, in particular by not driving on the sidewalks. So that the machines no longer park on the sidewalks, the town hall promises to reserve specific locations for them. And promises impoundments for poorly parked vehicles.
The town hall also intends to encourage operators to take greater account of the ecological impact of scooters, whose lifespan sometimes does not exceed a few months.
► July 2019: the first bankruptcies
While recriminations thrive, the fierce competition between different services complicates their business model. The market is a dream but it is difficult and expensive to find a place there. Quite quickly, several players will thus be forced to throw in the towel.
The series of setbacks is opened by Bolt (who owes his name to the 100m champion Usain Bolt) who will be the first to suspend his service from July 2019. Others will follow and gradually withdraw from the capital which will still retain a good half-dozen service providers.
► October 2020: only three operators
Faced with persistent protests, the mayor of Paris will again try to restore some order in the streets. Anne Hidalgo denounces “ the anarchy » that the operators reign in the streets of his city and announces the launch of a call for applications to retain only three.
From October 2020, the three lucky winners Dott, Lime and Tier will become the only services authorized to offer scooters in the streets of the capital. In exchange, they undertake to respect a stricter code of good conduct. The total number of machines is thus limited to 15,000, with a maximum speed of 20 km/h and even 10 km/h in the most densely frequented areas.
► April 2, 2023: final vote
Despite this limitation, scooters (and their users) continue to attract criticism. The mayor of Paris is changing its position and openly considering moving from regulation to outright prohibition.
While the service often proves very popular with young people, the issue is politically sensitive. The municipality will then propose to submit the question to a consultation of the inhabitants.
On April 2, 2023, Parisians (but not other Ile-de-France residents) are then called to go to their district town hall to vote for or against the ban on self-service scooters.
The turnout will be very low (barely 7.5% of registered voters) but the final result: nearly nine out of ten voters (89.03%) want the ban. In the process, the town hall ratifies the end of self-service scooters on September 1, 2023.
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