Paris votes to ban controversial form of light electric vehicles in the city
For years, shared electric scooters have dotted the streets and sidewalks of Paris. The scooters were heavily regulated but still welcomed into the city as a new form of alternative transportation. Over time though, the issue of shared e-scooters became more divisive, especially as the number of e-scooters in the city grew. Now it looks like the city is ready to write the final chapter on the shared two-wheelers after a recent vote has led the French capital to ban rental e-scooters.
Electric scooters are light, two-wheeled electric vehicles that typically have speeds of up to 25 km/h (15 mph) in Europe.
Their popularity has soared around the world in the past five years, especially in urban areas where they are used as a form of quick, convenient transportation.
Unlike privately owned electric scooters that are either locked outside or more commonly carried inside riders’ homes or places of work, shared electric scooters are free-floating devices. They are spread around cities where they are rented by the minute using a smartphone application.
Three shared scooter companies, Lime, Tier, and Dott, currently have permits from the city of Paris to operate up to 5,000 scooters each in the city.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has been a champion of reduced car traffic in Paris, led the April 1 referendum to ban shared e-scooters in the city.
Around 89% of voters opted to ban shared e-scooters, though the referendum was plagued by ultra-low voter turnout of around 8%. According to Politico, the shared e-scooter companies had petitioned the city to allow secure electronic voting as it was highly favored by the younger 18-24 demographic that comprise the majority of shared e-scooter riders. Their request was denied.
Hidalgo has pledged to have the shared electric scooters removed by September 1. The ban will not impact privately owned electric scooters, of which there are over 1 million in France.
One shared electric scooter, two competing viewpoints
Depending who you ask, shared electric scooters in Paris were either a menace or a blessing.
Those who opposed the electric scooters pointed to the thousands of scooters littering the sidewalks and pedestrian areas of the city. Riders often flouted traffic rules or parked scooters where they weren’t permitted, and many scooters were tossed into the river Seine by opponents of the light electric vehicles, adding more waste to the waterway.
Scooters left laying on their sides often made it harder for pedestrians to walk on sidewalks and proved to be even greater obstacles to the physically disabled.
Last year Paris saw three deaths and over 400 injuries associated with e-scooters, according to The Guardian.
On the other side of the argument, proponents of shared electric scooters in the city have touted their convenience as an effective and clean alternative form of transportation in Paris. Riders often use the shared e-scooters to replace the need for a car in the city. Compared to personal electric scooters, shared e-scooters prevent the worry of theft – another common issue in large cities like Paris.
Ultimately, the issue largely came down to a generational divide. Younger citizens that made up the vast majority of the shared e-scooter ridership were more likely to oppose the ban, while older city residents that typically made use of other forms of transportation supported banning shared e-scooters.
Paris leading the car-free movement
Even without shared e-scooters, Paris has played a progressive role in the growing movement to reduce car usage in cities.
Paris operates a popular city-run bicycle and e-bike rental program, and last year Paris announced a ban on cars in much of the historic center of the city.
Vehicles banned under the new rules will include most private vehicles used for through traffic. Exceptions will be made for public vehicles, residents who live in the included areas, delivery drivers, and those accessing services such as shopping. Despite the large number of exceptions, the move is still expected to take around 50% of cars off the road in the city center.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway