Where did all the rental e-scooters come from again?
(Checks notes)
Oh, now I remember, it was 2018 and rental e-scooters arrived via a convergence of tech advancements, smartphone ubiquity and the desire of cities around the world to turn over a new green transport leaf.
Back then, the idea that you could rock up to an e-scooter, unlock it with an app, hop on and be on your merry way was pretty novel—and pretty darn cool.
Five years on and e-scooters are now about as common on the European cityscape as sidewalk cafes, cathedrals & statues with a random body part faded from being rubbed for good luck.
If you’ve been over here any time recently, you’ve surely noticed them, and well, it turns out some Europeans are getting a little sick & tired of rental e-scooters.
In April, the citizens of Paris voted to forbid rental e-scooters and the city wasted no time at all giving their 15,000-strong fleet the proverbial boot, swiftly enacting the ban on September 1. This made Paris the highest-profile European city to prohibit rental e-scooters, just a few years after welcoming them with open arms.
What were the main points of contention in the City of Light?
Well, locals complained of rental e-scooter riders running wild on the rues of the city, leading to accidents that have caused hundreds of injuries and even a few deaths.
Other Parisians find the rental e-scooters to be eyesores, and I can't say I disagree with them on that point. For obvious brand identity reasons, e-scooters are almost always painted in bright colors that stick out like sore thumbs—especially against the backdrop of a city like Paris.
To say nothing of the mess on the pavement when a line of them has been knocked over like dominoes. Or the sound of them going over cobblestones.
Knocked over e-scooters in Europe. (Photo Credit: Ivan Radic)
So are rental e-scooters out of hand in Europe?
In the esteemed opinion of this European travel lover, they're definitely straddling the line.
In my home of York, England, my experience has been almost overwhelmingly positive. Tier—the e-scooter company of record—is the utmost professional and I've never personally seen any crazy stuff going on with pedestrians and/or crashes. The scooters are almost always neatly lined up and generally look great.
Besides the familiar sight of two people riding on the same one (which they're definitely not supposed to be doing), I've got no problems with them at all.
An e-scooter rider in Munich, Germany (Photo Credit: Marco Verch)
In fact, I live directly across from a docking station, and it’s sort of comforting to know they are out there just in case I need them. I've ridden them a couple of times, but usually stick to getting around town on a bicycle.
But York is a medium-sized city and not a metropolis and in the UK, you need a license and other credentials to rent them, unlike many other places in Europe.
I've had a slightly different experience in bigger European cities.
In Seville, I watched some riders carelessly take a corner, cutting off cars. In Stockholm, I witnessed some riders dart in front of a tram and just generally make walking the streets a little more stressful than it should be.
Rental e-scooters do seem to add a dash of chaos to the experience of exploring a European city.
You already had to keep your head on a swivel for trams, buses, cars, and bicycles and when you throw e-scooters into the mix, you've really got to pay attention.
It's worth noting that the Paris ban is only on rental scooters, meaning citizens are still free to buy and ride privately owned e-scooters—and they could be onto something there.
Surely, since these e-scooters are rentals, people do not drive them as carefully as they would if they owned them. And if they were all privately owned, they could be stowed away inside a person’s home.
Will more cities follow in the footsteps of Paris? Only time will tell.
I'll be paying attention to see how this all plays out, but in the meantime, make sure to look both ways (a couple of times) before crossing the street on your next trip.
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