Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters in their city, dealing
a blow to scooter operators and a triumph for road safety campaigners.

Almost 90% of votes cast on Sunday favoured a ban the battery-powered
devices, official results showed.
But under 8% of those eligible turned out to vote.
The referendum was called in response to a rising number of people being
injured and killed on e-scooters in the French capital.

Of the 1.38 million people on the city's electoral register, just over
103,000 took part, according to offical figures. Of these, over 91,300
voted against the scooters.

Paris was one of the first cities to adopt the electric vehicles - but
critics argue they were causing more harm than good.

There was growing concern with the way some people were driving the
scooters - weaving through traffic, dodging pedestrians on pavements, and
getting up to speeds of 17mph (27km/h).

Riders often did not wear helmets and children as young as 12 could legally
hire the e-scooters.

There was also criticism that groups of parked e-scooters were cluttering
pavements.

In 2021, a 31-year-old Italian woman was killed after being hit by an
e-scooter carrying two people. She fell and hit her head on the pavement,
suffering a cardiac arrest.

But operators of the e-scooters argued the vehicles made up a small
proportion of overall traffic accidents in the city.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the referendum, where voters could say if
they were for or against free-floating e-scooters. Privately-owned vehicles
were not part of the vote.

The pro-cycling Socialist leader supported a ban and announced the vote in
January to allow the people to decide.

"I'm committed to respecting the choice of voters, purely and simply," she
told reporters as she placed her own vote.

"It's very expensive - five euros (£4.40; $5.40) for 10 minutes - it's not
very sustainable, and above all, it's the cause of a lot of accidents," she
added.

Fearing that their mainly young customers would not turn out to vote, the
three main operators - Lime, Dott and Tier - used social media to urge
people to vote in their favour. They also offered free rides all day on
Sunday.

New laws introduced in 2019 - including a requirement to wear high
visibility clothing and not ride against the traffic flow - imposed a fine
of €135 (£116; $146), and up to €1,500 for going over the speed limit.

Meanwhile, dumped scooters had also become a significant problem in Paris,
with many being found in the city's parks and squares.

A ban on parking the dockless scooters on pavements largely went unheeded
despite the threat of a €35 fine.

<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65154854>

--
Spike

On 01/09/2023 11:52 am, Spike wrote:
>
> Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters in their city, dealing
> a blow to scooter operators and a triumph for road safety campaigners.
>
> Almost 90% of votes cast on Sunday favoured a ban the battery-powered
> devices, official results showed.
> But under 8% of those eligible turned out to vote.
> The referendum was called in response to a rising number of people being
> injured and killed on e-scooters in the French capital.
>
> Of the 1.38 million people on the city's electoral register, just over
> 103,000 took part, according to offical figures. Of these, over 91,300
> voted against the scooters.
>
> Paris was one of the first cities to adopt the electric vehicles - but
> critics argue they were causing more harm than good.
>
> There was growing concern with the way some people were driving the
> scooters - weaving through traffic, dodging pedestrians on pavements, and
> getting up to speeds of 17mph (27km/h).
>
> Riders often did not wear helmets and children as young as 12 could legally
> hire the e-scooters.
>
> There was also criticism that groups of parked e-scooters were cluttering
> pavements.
>
> In 2021, a 31-year-old Italian woman was killed after being hit by an
> e-scooter carrying two people. She fell and hit her head on the pavement,
> suffering a cardiac arrest.
>
> But operators of the e-scooters argued the vehicles made up a small
> proportion of overall traffic accidents in the city.
>
> Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called the referendum, where voters could say if
> they were for or against free-floating e-scooters. Privately-owned vehicles
> were not part of the vote.
>
> The pro-cycling Socialist leader supported a ban and announced the vote in
> January to allow the people to decide.
>
> "I'm committed to respecting the choice of voters, purely and simply," she
> told reporters as she placed her own vote.
>
> "It's very expensive - five euros (£4.40; $5.40) for 10 minutes - it's not
> very sustainable, and above all, it's the cause of a lot of accidents," she
> added.
>
> Fearing that their mainly young customers would not turn out to vote, the
> three main operators - Lime, Dott and Tier - used social media to urge
> people to vote in their favour. They also offered free rides all day on
> Sunday.
>
> New laws introduced in 2019 - including a requirement to wear high
> visibility clothing and not ride against the traffic flow - imposed a fine
> of €135 (£116; $146), and up to €1,500 for going over the speed limit.
>
> Meanwhile, dumped scooters had also become a significant problem in Paris,
> with many being found in the city's parks and squares.
>
> A ban on parking the dockless scooters on pavements largely went unheeded
> despite the threat of a €35 fine.
>
> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65154854>

France is a member of the EU, isn't it?

Referenda results there (in the EU) are only allowed to stand if they
are the results the orforrities wanted in the first place.

You can already feel the backpedalling: "...under 8% of those eligible
turned out to vote...".

Had the 8% voted to keep and expand the electro-scooter scheme, the
result would have been hailed as a victory for the peoples' democracy.

Watch out for a re-run of the vote, on some specious ground or another.

JNugent <jnugent@mail.com> wrote:
> On 01/09/2023 11:52 am, Spike wrote:

>> Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters in their city, dealing
>> a blow to scooter operators and a triumph for road safety campaigners.

>> Almost 90% of votes cast on Sunday favoured a ban the battery-powered
>> devices, official results showed.

>> <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65154854>

> France is a member of the EU, isn't it?

> Referenda results there (in the EU) are only allowed to stand if they
> are the results the orforrities wanted in the first place.

> You can already feel the backpedalling: "...under 8% of those eligible
> turned out to vote...".

> Had the 8% voted to keep and expand the electro-scooter scheme, the
> result would have been hailed as a victory for the peoples' democracy.

> Watch out for a re-run of the vote, on some specious ground or another.

Yes, there’s nothing new in how the EU operates.

“Fearing that their mainly young customers would not turn out to vote, the
three main operators - Lime, Dott and Tier - used social media to urge
people to vote in their favour. They also offered free rides all day on
Sunday.”

That attempt at swinging the vote didn’t work very well, did it? And yet
Remoaners are expecting youngsters to turn out in their droves should a
re-run of the 2016 Referendum ever take place. Wonder what bribe will be
offered then?

The EU: Getting The Right Answer No Matter How Many Times You Have To Vote…

--
Spike