A ban on electric scooter rentals in Paris is not being seen as a setback for operators looking to break into the Irish market next year, reports RTE.
Paris was the first European city to adopt the concept of shared electric scooters in 2018, and the French capital was the first to bid them farewell last week after an April referendum.
The concept is off to a very promising start, allowing users to rent e-scooters through a mobile app and leave them anywhere after use.
While this new form of urban mobility has proven popular among Paris’ young population, it faces a number of challenges.
The referendum was called in response to a growing number of people being injured and killed by e-scooters, and despite the low turnout, the vote was decisive.
Three companies, Lime, Dot and Tier, have contracted with the city to supply a total of 15,000 electric scooters.
The fleet that once roamed the streets of Paris has now been removed.
As Paris says au revoir, will Ireland say electric scooters are bad?
Ireland has been slow to jump on the electric scooter bandwagon compared to other European countries, reports RTE.
New e-scooter regulations came into effect this summer, paving the way for e-scooter rental schemes to operate here.
The Department for Transport has published draft regulations which have been sent to the European Commission and member states have 90 days to raise any issues.
Minister Eamonn Ryan is expected to sign the regulations by the end of October if there are no objections.
Meanwhile, the National Transport Office and the Department are working on guidelines for local governments to launch rental programs.
Private companies producing e-scooters have already started discussions with city and county authorities.
Estonian mobility firm, Bolt, has introduced electric bikes for public use in two Irish cities, Kilkenny and Sligo.
“We wouldn’t want to launch something in autumn or winter so our hope is that we would be in a position to be in agreement with councils to be launching in the spring or early summer of next year,” said Aisling Dunne, head of policy for Bolt in Ireland, reports RTE.
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