There are currently 15,000 of scooters, bikes and scooters self-service, or “free-floating” in the capital. “In a few months, if nothing is done, there will be 40,000 more!” alarm Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy to the mayor of Paris. What market recent is in euphoria, starting with the scooters. Euphoria well be too cumbersome for the town hall. While the draft Law on the orientation of mobility (LOM) is presented in review in the Senate since Tuesday, the capital city has decided to take the lead in the face of the urgency of the situation.
” READ ALSO – The increase in electricity tariffs will apply to mid-2019
This Thursday, the municipality has decided to establish an annual fee on these devices in “free-floating”, to the unit. A decision which will be presented at the Council of Paris at the beginning of April. After publication in the official Journal, the measure will be effective fifteen days later.
“now is the time to act,” explains Emmanuel Grégoire, “parliamentary agenda is much too busy, to wait a year would be risking that Paris becomes a real mess”. Since in practice, the elected is confirmed, the operators of free-floating benefit from a loophole allowing them to deploy as much as they want. “When an operator of the scooter moved to Paris, he does it in the middle of the night without asking us our opinion, and we can do nothing,” says Emmanuel Grégoire.
“We have a strategy to implement long-term. Paying this fee does not bother us absolutely not”
Result: the capital is witnessing a multiplication of operators, using Paris as an international showcase. “With this charge, develops the assistant to the Mayor, we have several goals, starting with control that unfolds in our city.” In effect, to pay the fee, the operator will be required to sign a parallel charter of the town hall, allowing him a proper status.
“very good news,” says Arthur-Louis Jacquier, the executive director of Lime France, the leader of the scooter electric in Paris. The company with 300 employees to the capital, and who claims “a healthy economy”, -although still not cost – effective- looked forward to be recognized. “We have a long-term strategy, to pay this levy does not bother us absolutely not”. The company confirms that it will not increase its rates.
” READ ALSO – the bikes in The “free-floating” seduce Parisians
Lime paid already a fee to The Defence as well as in Marseille. Other cities have decided in recent weeks, like Lille or Bordeaux. This practice is also common in the world, such as Chicago, Sao Paulo, Valencia and Milan.
Scooter vs. bike
Counter intuitively, the fee is expected to be more severe with regard to scooters than bikes. Between 20 and 26€ for a bike, and between 50 and 65€ for a scooter, while the latter is naturally less bulky than the first. “We want to focus on the bike which is much better for human health,” explains Emmanuel Grégoire. “In addition, this will allow you to slow down the operators in the surdéploiement of scooters. Currently, they have a habit of test areas, the risk of failures. We want with this fee the contain”. According to him, “the market of the scooter, which is currently in full growth, will know the same fate as the bikes two years ago: the competition if fierce is going to make it so that it remains only one or two operators. But in the meantime, we don’t want the operators to do anything in Paris”.
Price of royalties in function of the type of gear. SNCF
A point of view not shared by absolutely not Jocelyn Loumeto, managing director of the Federation of Professionals of micromovement (FP2M). “In terms of congestion, the bicycle mishap much more than the scooter! And from a market point of view, we can clearly see that Paris is a city more made for scooters, for bicycles”. Two arguments that contradict the view of the town hall.
According to him, “the bicycle and the scooter are mobility complementary. It is absurd to favor one over the other. I’m not sure that the municipality be aware of what the scooter. It is a market in full expansion, be hostile to, this is not necessarily a good solution”.
Parking for scooters
The project of the town council, goes much further: remove the “free-floating” as we currently know it. In fact, in the long term, Emmanuel Gregoire plans to “create 2,500 parking spaces, of any size, for self-service vehicles”. The idea would be to replace some of the parking spaces of cars by bicycles or scooters, stations located every 150 meters, “is a minute and a half walk to get there,” says the elected official.
“In this context, we believe that the user will not be too disturbed by these stations, and this will allow more time to clear sidewalks and better control of the vehicle”. Emmanuel Grégroire advance that “the operators will also find their account, to the extent that it will simplify the task of the employees of the night who come to retrieve the gear”.
How to enforce this measure? “Considering a system of bonus-malus, where users would pay more or less expensive depending on the place where they park their vehicles”. After its eruption in the streets of the capital, the scooter will make its entry into the State of law.
