STORY: Paris to ban public rental electric scooter
DATELINE: Aug. 31, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:37
LOCATION: Paris
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (French): Resident in Paris
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): Resident in Paris
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (French): Resident in Paris
4. various of streets of Paris
5. various of public rental electric scooters

STORYLINE:

On the streets of Paris, public rental electric scooters, which are popular with young people but also raise concerns among the elderly, are coming to an end.

As of Friday, the city will ban public rental electric scooters.

On April 2 this year, over 100,000 Parisians voted, with close to 90 percent voting against the continuation of the contracts between the three public rental electric scooter operators and the City of Paris, in an unprecedented citizens' vote convened by the city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo.

The scooters were introduced in Paris in 2018.

SOUNDBITE 1 (French): Resident in Paris
"I don't think it's a good idea to eliminate electric scooters. I think that some people can't take the metro or drive, so their only way to get around is by electric scooter and bicycle. Although there are some traffic accidents, they are not very common. Besides, traffic accidents happen every day. So banning e-scooters directly is not a good idea."

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): Resident in Paris
"I think it's a shame because its electric scooter is kind of cozy and solves a lot of problems. Especially at night, when public transport is all off, it's easy to get home on an electric scooter, cheaper than Uber and taxis, which is fine with me, even if it is a bit dangerous for traffic. Also now people can place their electric scooters nicely. Paris is no longer a mess. It's more efficient and convenient. I don't really see why it should be banned."

SOUNDBITE 3 (French): Resident in Paris
"I think it's a good decision. Riding an electric scooter is very dangerous for pedestrians. They don't obey traffic signals; they don't obey speed limits; they don't obey anything. Personally, I prefer to drive, which is less dangerous. So I think it's a good decision."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Paris.
(XHTV)