Is the end of free-floating scooters in Marseille as well?

Certainly, the free-floating scooters are not popular at the moment. After Paris, Marseille is considering banning them as well.

Questionable environmental benefits, job insecurity, reckless users, illegal parking: the complaints against free-floating scooters and the companies managing them are numerous. In Paris, the city hall has not hidden its intention to see them disappear for several weeks now. Now, it is the officials of Marseille who are stepping up to the challenge.

Interviewed by BFM TV, Audrey Gatian, assistant to the mayor in charge of mobility, clarified the Marseille municipal government’s position on this issue. “We are ready to stop everything if we sense there is no improvement”, stated the elected official, who is calling on operators to quickly take measures to better regulate their fleets. “The ball is in their court. We want things to work well. Now, it’s up to them to prove they can operate their system effectively”, she added.

A topic already raised by the mayor of Marseille

This follows statements made by Mayor Benoît Payan, who indicated that decisions regarding electric scooters in free circulation would be made soon. At this point, no one knows what the city hall is planning: a complete ban, the implementation of stricter rules, or a vote like in Paris, to let residents decide on this thorny issue?

In Marseille, the free-floating scooters are managed by Voi, Bird, and Lime, which have shared the market since October 2021. As in Paris, designated parking areas have been specifically created for these vehicles, which have been present in the city since 2019. However, scooters are still abandoned in inappropriate places, causing the municipality’s anger. An operation to remove free-floating scooters and bikes was organized at its request in December last year.

Read also: Lorient: Rental electric scooters, first in Brittany