Registrations for electric scooters in Paris

They appear on the streets of Paris, and the registration of dockless electric scooters could reduce accidents.

Initially anarchic, electric scooters now operate within a strict regulatory framework. But for some Paris City Hall officials, including Deputy Mayor David Belliard in charge of transport and mobility, it is not enough, hinting at their outright ban.

The three current operators, Tier, Dott, and Lime, had a two-year contract with Paris starting in October 2020. A meeting on September 29 reportedly included many requests from the municipality, to which the operators responded on October 11 with 11 potential measures. Despite good intentions, they have not received any response but do not want to wait.

Why Registering Scooters in Paris?

As is already the case in Grenoble or abroad (Germany, Denmark), each device now has its registration. And this has been in effect since this week. The 15,000 electric scooters have a white square at the rear, behind the wheel, with black numbers and/or letters.

The goal? It is threefold. The first benefit is to identify offenders for law enforcement. Since accounts are now required to be linked to an ID card— at least after two uses— making investigations easier. The second is that a victim involved in an accident with a scooter user can identify the responsible party, especially in case of hit-and-run. The third is to report violations—such as riding two abreast, on the sidewalk, etc.—via the license plate linked to an email address.

Note that in this case, registrations are quite small, making them difficult to read at high speeds. In London, for example, larger yellow bands with black numbers are clearer (see tweet above). Another point is that electric bikes operated by Lime, Tier, or Dott will not have these registrations. According to them, the audience is different: less young, more women, and more attentive to traffic laws, resulting in fewer accidents.

Already Many Regulations for Scooters in Paris

The operators claim to already do a lot in terms of safety and education. Although the services provided by various players since 2018 were somewhat chaotic, they have significantly evolved. Here’s what electric scooters in Paris have adopted for free-floating rental:

• March 2019: Speed limit to 20 km/h and a code of good conduct
• December 2019: Ban on parking outside designated areas
• October 2021: Increased patrols and reporting via email
• November 2021: 700 zones at 10 km/h
• January 2022: Awareness campaign in the metro

Among the 11 measures presented last October, Dott, Tier, and Lime plan to increase patrols further to manage parking. Currently, only 2,500 zones exist in Paris, but the number of parking spots is estimated at 0.87 per scooter.

Insufficient and causing saturation, although it has decreased by 80% between July and September thanks to “an anti-saturation algorithm”. Note that parking outside designated zones can incur a fine of €35, as well as penalties for operators between €5 and €20.

Read also: Lorient: electric scooter rentals, first in Brittany