A true revolution for some and hell for others, the electric scooter rental leaves no one indifferent, especially in the streets of the capital. Designed to move freely and easily in the city, the poorly regulated use of the service ended up irritating many Parisians.
Is renting an electric scooter in Paris still worth it or is it more interesting to invest in a better-suited model? Let's take an overview of this new extra-urban means of transport.
The arrival of electric scooters in free service in Paris in 2018
Arriving during June 2018, the electric scooters of Paris in free service have blossomed everywhere over the months in the metropolitan area.
First through the American brand Lime, it is finally a dozen competitors including Jump (Uber), Dott, Bird, Bolt and Tier among others who ended up taking over the Parisian sidewalks. Proof that there is a real enthusiasm for this micro-mobility solution.
Advantages of electric scooter rental
The free floating is a sharing principle without the need for prior reservation. The advantage here is obvious: to use this electric scooter rental to move as quickly as possible from point A to point B without any other constraint.
Available almost everywhere in the capital, just use the electric scooter closest to you with its QR code and once finished, leave it wherever you want. The locking and unlocking system is done exclusively using an app on your smartphone. You need to scan the QR code for this.
This way, you ride ecologically, without noise, without cluttering traffic with a bulky vehicle. It is thus possible, with an electric scooter in free service, to complete the last kilometer separating us from our destination, without having to, for example, wait for a possible bus.
Problems caused by the rental of electric scooters in free floating
Unfortunately, due to unclear usage rules combined with the incivility of some users (vandalism), this ended up exasperating the residents of the capital. The Paris city hall, which had until then let operators do as they pleased, aware of the population's need for ecological transportation, had to impose constraints to ensure a less chaotic service.
The highway code not respected
The arrival of electric scooter rentals in Paris and the increase in accidents on the road highlighted the need for more precise regulations in the highway code for all electric scooter users.
The July 2020 legislation therefore allowed better regulation of the circulation of these new vehicles to prevent, for example, two users on a single device or using a Lime electric scooter to ride among pedestrians at 20 km/h or 25 km/h (the maximum speed on the road).
Parking problem of free-service electric scooters
Even if traffic may have caused some issues in public spaces (but what vehicle doesn't?), the real core of the problem comes from the parking of these devices. Users can leave them wherever they want without any designated place for this, so sidewalks quickly became littered with free-service electric scooters, preventing pedestrians from moving freely.
damage to rental equipment
By subsequently occupying spaces reserved for cars, Parisian electric scooters have annoyed more than one driver who could not find a place to park their vehicle. Some even took justice into their own hands by throwing these Paris electric scooters directly into the Seine or by covering the QR code on the vehicles with paint.
Charging problem for electric scooter operators
Beyond these inconveniences mainly related to users, there is one, much more insidious, that has called into question the presence of the Paris electric scooter self-service. It is the charging! If most people don't think about it, the batteries of these devices (offering a range between 30 and 50 km) must be recharged so that they can be used the next day.
Without this, no service for free-floating electric scooter operators.
Unfortunately, nothing had really been planned before the arrival of electric scooter rental in Paris. Without a fixed docking point, the scooters must be collected by independents, not working exclusively for a single operator like Lime or Bird.
These Juicers, as they call themselves, collect and plug into a power outlet in a rather anarchic way the some 15000 electric scooters available for rent in Paris.
This led to abuses with Juicers recharging the devices without taking safety measures into account or even recharging directly on the street using gasoline generators. Far from the ecology that electric scooters offer!
Up to twelve electric scooter rental applications.
In barely a year, twelve operators shared the streets of the capital. A significant number that only pushed prices down and increased the number of problems caused.
Apart from the pioneer Lime, equipped with a fleet of Ninebot electric scooters, it was possible to choose other operators like Bird, the second most popular service among users, but also Circ, Dott, Jump, Voi, Bolt (supported by Usain Bolt), Wind, Hive, Tier and finally B Mobility. An obvious headache for Parisians having to juggle between various applications.
Three authorized electric scooter free service operators in 2021 in Paris.
Long before the lockdown, the city of Paris wanted to promote this soft mobility. But all this within a better-defined framework so that the activity of electric scooter rental operators does not drive the residents of the Paris region crazy.
After reaffirming the ban on parking on sidewalks in 2019, Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, therefore issued a call for tenders to free-floating operators aiming to reduce to only two or three electric scooter sharing services.
Who are the operators selected by the Paris city hall
Since the start of September 2020, the companies Dott, Lime and Tier are the only ones allowed to operate their vehicles in the capital for a period of 2 years. These three operators have all signed a public space occupancy agreement authorizing them to deploy 5000 electric scooters each in exchange for a fee.
The selection criteria were based on environmental responsibility, safety as well as maintenance and charging of these shared electric scooters. 2500 parking spaces were thus created during the summer to accommodate 6 electric scooters each.
Enough to normally meet the ever-growing demand from users, especially post-Covid, with a population seeking to avoid the crowding of Parisian transport.
Lime electric scooter, the American giant
First to arrive on the Parisian market, the American operator Lime, supported by various investor groups (including Axios, and Andreessen Horowitz who helped finance Twitter), has therefore not lost its place after two years spent in the capital. The electric scooter rental company is today valued at several billion.
Lime electric scooters, with its Lime-S, are based on models from Segway-Ninebot (hence the -S). They allow reaching a maximum speed of 24 km/h with 50 km of autonomy. Characteristics very close to the Ninebot ES1 electric scooter with its external battery.
Its application, associated with Uber, allows you to easily find an electric scooter on your way, as well as remotely activate the horn to better locate the chosen vehicle. Very intuitive, it also directly shows the number of kilometers remaining on the device.
Regarding prices, Lime works like a virtual wallet where it is necessary to deposit 10 euros for the first use. The scooter will then be charged 1 euro at activation, as well as 20 cents per minute.
Dott scooter, the cheapest service
One of the latest services to arrive in Paris has still managed to make its place. Dott offers light electric scooters of its own design, equipped with large wheels and a wide deck for more comfort at foot level, this model reaches a maximum speed of 20 km/h.
Available at its arrival only in the 13th arrondissement, Dott electric scooters for rent can now be found almost everywhere in the City of Light.
Cheaper than its competitors when they were all in Paris, it will only cost you 15 cents per minute in addition to the 1 euro activation fee. Easily recognizable, the models are rich in color and undeniably catch the eye in the street.
Tier, the most robust electric scooters
Arriving at the end of 2018 along the Seine, the German start-up Tier had counted up to 1500 vehicles. Unfortunately, the service was forced to suspend its service for an entire summer due to numerous damages suffered by their two-wheelers.
Returning last year, the company Tier is the only one to offer electric scooters for free service with a removable battery. While this may seem anecdotal to the user, it is not the same ecologically. Instead of having to collect thousands of vehicles by truck every night to recharge them, Tier only needed a few employees moving a cargo bike to replace empty batteries with full ones.
With the arrival of charging stations, this advantage is likely to disappear but Tier insists a lot on being the first ecomobility company to operate in a completely climate neutral way. A point that undoubtedly made the difference at the Paris city hall when it was necessary to make a choice among the many candidate operators.
The scooter model called Tier 3 is radically different from other operators. If Tier previously used Segway-Ninebot ES2 and ES4, this latest model designed in partnership with the company Okai weighs nearly 29 kg including 4 kg of battery and has large wheels.
Their electric scooter is extremely robust to achieve a reliable system where electrical connections do not disconnect at the slightest shock. A way to respond, again, to the environmental challenge compared to other free service scooters having a sometimes very short lifespan.
The price is affordable and like Dott, you only pay one euro service fee then 15 cents per minute.
Electric scooter rental versus purchase, what to choose?
The future of electric scooter rental is conditioned by the same issues as shared cars and bikes. All stakeholders must find their benefit to sustain these services and offer a reliable and durable solution.
That is why we at Weebot believe that non-shared electric scooters in Paris still have a great future. Owning your own electric scooter is an investment but used daily, it costs less than being dependent on free service operators.
80€ per month for renting an electric scooter in Paris
Let's take as an example a person using an electric scooter in free floating every day to get to their workplace. Using Lime scooters, for a 5-minute trip in the morning and the same at the end of the day, it will cost them 80 euros per month. As much as a monthly Navigo subscription offering unlimited trips throughout the Île-de-France.
Throughout the year, it approaches 1000 euros, as much as the high-end models we sell in our store which will have no autonomy issues, ride faster (exceeding 25 km/h) and can easily climb slopes without losing speed.
Inöe Sweemie, the best waterproof electric scooter for the city
If you are considering buying an electric scooter in Paris, we recommend the excellent Inöe Sweemie. A waterproof electric scooter model for the city, absorbing the shocks of cobblestones with its front suspension fork and large 10-inch inflatable wheels.
This new electric scooter comes from the free-floating world with its advantages such as high water resistance. Indeed, with its IP67 waterproof rating, this scooter will ride regardless of the weather in Paris. An inexpensive electric scooter model that will easily replace a subscription to rental scooters in Paris.
Buying an electric scooter is much more ecological than renting
The other great advantage of buying an electric scooter is the one we talk about the least. According to a Quartz survey, the average lifespan of a free service electric scooter would be only 28.8 days. The environmental impact would therefore not be as good as it seems at first glance. Even though it is still less polluting than a combustion car, the damage suffered by these devices means they often need to be replaced rather than repaired.
Each solution therefore has its advantages and disadvantages. These various solutions, shared or not, are not incompatible and can perfectly coexist to offer an ecological mobility solution suitable for each person.
FAQ:
Can two people ride on a free-floating electric scooter?
According to the law, and for your safety, it is forbidden to ride more than one person on an electric scooter. Failure to comply with this rule is punishable by a 135 euro fine.
What is the required age to use a free service electric scooter?
While riding an electric scooter in France is allowed from the age of 12, creating an account on free service electric scooter apps is generally reserved for adults only.
What is the benefit of buying an electric scooter compared to rental services?
Buying your own electric scooter in Paris is a long-term investment. If you plan to travel daily, it is more cost-effective to own your electric scooter than to use a paid per-minute free-floating service. There are also much more durable and powerful models available for purchase.
Do you need insurance to ride a rented model?
It is mandatory to have liability insurance to ride a Lime electric scooter. However, Dott and Tier services already include insurance coverage in their contracts in case of an accident with one of their electric scooters in Paris.
Can you park an electric scooter on Parisian sidewalks?
No, it is no longer possible to leave your electric scooter parked anywhere on the sidewalks. Since September 2020, parking lots are available in Paris (2500 spaces each accommodating 6 shared electric scooters).
Can you borrow free service electric scooters at any time?
Yes, electric scooters are available for rent at any time of day or night. You just need to check on the app if the battery autonomy is sufficient for your trip.
How to unlock a Lime electric scooter?
To unlock a Lime electric scooter, you need to scan the QR code or enter its registration number using the Lime app on Android or iOS. In low light, remember to activate the flashlight option to scan the code on the Lime.
Is a helmet mandatory on an electric scooter?
No, unlike bicycles, helmets are still not mandatory when riding an adult electric scooter (at the time of writing this article). However, if you own one, it is advised to wear it because the risk of falling on these shared vehicles can happen.
Conclusion of this electric scooter rental guide
The post-lockdown period is therefore an ideal opportunity for electric scooter rental operators to prove their reliability and environmental commitment in the long term.
By moving away from the free-floating model to docking stations, the Lime, Tier, and Dott electric scooters now have two years to prove themselves and meet the significant challenges represented by autonomous electric transportation, knowing that in case of failure, their contract might not be renewed.
The year 2021 is therefore crucial for these electric scooter rental companies. With the country facing the coronavirus epidemic, users are increasingly tempted to buy an electric scooter in Paris to avoid possible contamination from a shared model.
What is certain is that the future of urban mobility involves more personal travel by electric scooter, whether rented or not. With cars increasingly being pushed out of cities, users are turning to these new ecological urban transportation methods.
