Electric scooters could become a memory in Bucharest. The vice mayor of the capital formulated several arguments for their ban, following the model of Paris, which will outlaw them from September 1.
The arguments from the Capital City Hall for banning electric scooters
The vice mayor of the capital proposed banning electric scooters in Bucharest, following a referendum, in the context of the large number of accidents recorded in recent years. Previously, the official drew up a drastic regulation for the use of these vehicles that are rented by ridesharing companies.
Last year, 13 people lost their lives and another 200 people were seriously injured. During all this time, the City Hall of the Capital has not made even one kilometer of dedicated track for cyclists or users of these scooters.
Currently, Bucharest has only 32 kilometers of tracks, unlike Paris, which has 1,200 kilometers of cycle tracks. In the French capital, these vehicles will no longer be seen on the streets, from September 1, following a referendum held in April.
The result of the Paris referendum on electric scooters
In the referendum organized by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, 89% of the voters decided to abandon electric scooters. Thus, the companies that together operate approximately 15,000 electric scooters in Paris, Lime, Dott and Tier, should remove them from the city by the set date.
Despite initially supporting the use of electric scooters, the mayor of Paris ended up campaigning against these vehicles. Anne Hidalgo motivated her change of opinion by saying that there have been too many accidents and that they represent too expensive a business model, with 10-minute journeys costing 5 euros.
On the other hand, the representatives of the three companies that operate electric scooters in Paris claim that the result of the vote was influenced by the very low turnout. 103,084 people voted, i.e. about 7.5% of the people with the right to vote in the French capital. However, the referendum is only advisory, so the final decision rests with the mayor.
