The city of Paris has informed the three private shared e-scooter operators in the capital that their contracts may not be renewed if no progress is made on speed limits and parking.
Three people have died since 2019 involving the shared e-scooters. Last month, a 32-year-old Italian woman died following a collision with an e-scooter rider, while she was standing talking to friends by the Seine river. The driver who had a passenger behind fled the scene. Both were however found and arrested after 10 days.
“Either there is a significant improvement in the situation, and the e-scooters find their place in the public space without causing any disturbance or additional danger, particularly for pedestrians, or we envisage the total termination of self-service e-scooters when the contract expires in October 2022,” David Belliard, Deputy Mayor, told AFP.
Belliard has demanded that operators strictly respect the 20 km/hour speed limit and that e-scooter drivers only drive on roads and cycle paths, New Mobility reports.
According to French law, e-scooters must not exceed 25 km/hour, can only carry one driver, and must be used on cycle paths. The City of Paris also limited the speed of e-scooters further, to 20 km/hour from summer 2019 and does not allow them to be parked on pavements.
According to a recent survey by Axa Prévention, e-scooter enthusiasts in the country seem to have taken advantage of the Covid-19 epidemic to break the rules.
78% of say they make phone calls while riding, and 49% drive after having drunk more than two glasses of alcoholic beverage. 45% of users get on their e-scooters after consuming cannabis or other drugs, compared to only 2% of motorists.
The Brussels Times
