Posted on 08/28/2023 3:29:24 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Paris (AFP) – Paris will on Friday become the first European capital to ban floating electric scooters from its streets, leaving fans desolate but relieving those who loathed their "nuisance" factor.
Residents voted by almost 90 percent in an April referendum to ban the scooters -- celebrated as a win for direct democracy by mayor Anne Hidalgo even though turnout was just 7.5 percent.
The ban applies to rental scooters which have been offered by several operators since 2018, although people will still be able to whizz through Paris on privately-owned contraptions.
With complaints of users jostling through pedestrians on pavements or dumping their rides awkwardly at intersections, the city's 15,000 two-wheeled machines from providers Tier, Lime and Dott had turned into "nuisances" for many Parisians, Hidalgo said at the time.
But "so many people were sad" at the decision, said Paris-based American influencer Amanda Rollins, 33, who often gets around by scooter -- one of 400,000 people to do so in 2022, according to figures from the operators.
"They're just so much fun!" she added, while noting that being able to just pick one up offers "a really reliable way to get home... like a safety net" on nights when the metro closes before the capital's bars.
The day scooters arrived in Paris in 2018 was "like Christmas... it was like Santa came overnight," she recalled, praising their use for tours of the city with friends and their practicality when stopping for a swift Instagram photoshoot.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Too bad we couldn’t ban idiots. That would solve 90% of the worlds problems.
Biggest waste of machines I have ever seen. The only load you can carry is whatever is on your back in a knapsack.
The objection of Paris wasn’t that it isn’t a good value for the renter. It was that they just don’t like these.
They’re still legal where I live and I rent them from time to time. Yet I can see why people with baby carriages would hate them.
Idiots are to blame. Elsewhere in the world, there are idiots but the idiot-density has not reached such a critical point.
I’m guessing Amanda Rollins doesn’t do anything but post on Instagram, stay out late drinking, and shopping.
Such a fulfilling, rewarding and generous life.
EC
Paris voted...
ROTF!
Question is did their Deep State thrown them a bone, or did it want the things gone, too?
You're just not thinking imaginatively. Use your head.
My neighbors kids use them. It seems they collect them throughout the week until they have 4-5 parked by the garage, then every Sunday evening at 8:30 PM a truck comes and loads them up and they start all over.
They look dangerous to me.
Last year I was at a trade show. My hotel was about 1/2 mile from the convention center. I had injured my foot a week earlier. I could walk but it was painful.
I used those scooters a lot. They saved my week.
The show was in San Antonio. Whenever I rode past the Alamo, the scooter would die and I had to walk it past the busy area. Here’s a thought Paris, work with the companies like Bird Scooter did and make a few No-Go zones.
What I especially like about the scooters is the free-market capitalism. These companies didn’t seek permission, they just showed up.
When something gets rolled out across the country, simultaneously, there is probably a globalist at the heart of it somewhere.
I’m glad it save you, but other than that it’s use seems pretty limited to me in light of more useful options like an e-bike. I can’t stand the idea of only being limited to one bag carry on.
To each his own, that’s why we have a free market.
Yes, the free market is great like that.
I wish people would actually understand that.
15,000 scooters, minus monthly rental fees, is a pretty big hit for the companies. wonder if they’ll fight this.
People are like that, until their ox is gored. I am, more or less, committed to the idea of free choice for the individual and the market will determine what is best even if I can’t see why something is best.
>They look dangerous to me.
Usually the maximum speed is around 20 mph. Not recommended to fall from it, but if they do then likely these kids get a lesson and not a serious injury.
Charles Nelson Reilly will be crushed!
Regards,
They need to do the same in Reno! People dump these things everywhere around town. An eyesore, a safety hazard, litter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.