In Paris, opening of polling stations decide the fate of self-service scooters
Published on : Modified :
The polling stations dedicated to the Parisian consultation on self-service scooters, which must decide the future of these 15,000 contested machines in the capital, opened Sunday morning at 9 a.m.
“For or against self-service scooters?” Parisians registered on the electoral lists on March 10, 2022, i.e. 1,382,322 French citizens or nationals of the European Union, are called upon to answer this question, Sunday April 2, during a “citizen vote” convened by the mayor PS Anne Hidalgo.
Voting is open until 7 p.m., with results scheduled for 10 p.m. Each borough has a polling place, except on the 16the which has two. The 21 sites, mostly district town halls with the exception of two gymnasiums (16e and 19e) and a school (16e), include 203 polling stations, managed by 1,270 agents.
Electronic voting and proxy voting are not possible, to the chagrin of scooter operators, who hoped to mobilize their young clientele by this means.
An unprecedented consultation
This consultation, a first of its kind in the capital, “will engage” the socialist mayor who must decide whether or not to renew the contract with the three private operators present in the capital (Lime, Tier and Dott). These agreements, which authorize each to deploy 5,000 scooters, expired at the end of March.
Technological improvements, campaign on social networks and free race on the day of the vote: the three operators have tried everything to avoid their eviction, which would send a negative signal to medium-sized cities reluctant to authorize this service, when other large metropolises such as Barcelona or Montreal are still blocking their installation.
Electric scooters are accused by their detractors of being abandoned anywhere in public spaces, of speeding past pedestrians on sidewalks, or of not being so ecological because of a poor carbon footprint. Assumed.
>> Read also: Self-service electric scooters, gentle mobility for the planet?
However, the pandemic and strikes in transport, combined with restrictions on car traffic in the French capital, have favored their multiplication.
To reassure the town hall, the operators have already deployed numerous measures, registering their scooters to better collaborate with the police, increasing controls on the age of users, and reinforcing patrols against poorly parked vehicles.
With AFP
France 24-Trans
