Paris has become the first major European capital to ban rental electric scooters from its streets.
The decision was made after nearly 90 per cent of voters backed a blanket ban on rented scooters in a spring referendum.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo supported the ban, saying removing scooters from Parisian streets would help reduce “nuisance”.
Operators Lime, Tier and Dott have begun withdrawing their estimated 15,000 rental units from the city. These scooters will be sent to other cities in Europe after repair and maintenance work.
Some will remain in the wider Ile-de-France region around Paris, with Tier offering service in suburbs such as Marne-la-Vallee and Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
“We’ve turned the page on scooters” for the whole Paris region, said Lime’s public affairs director Xavier Mirailles.
The Californian firm will send its scooters to Lille in northern France, London, Copenhagen and several German cities, while Dott’s will go to Belgium and Tel Aviv. The firms hope customers switch to floating hire bicycles.
“Rather than giving in to nostalgia, we prefer to look to the future,” said Tier’s France chief Clement Pette, pointing to 5,000 bikes in his Paris stable.
Mr Mirailles said that “bicycle development is showing strong growth”, with a “very exciting outlook” for their 10,000 machines.
A referendum on e-scooters was held in Paris in response to a rising number of injuries and deaths in the French capital.
In Britain, privately owned scooters are allowed only on private land, although this is being widely flouted.
