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| The Best Way to See Europe This Summer | The Best Way to See Europe This Summer |
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| PARIS — “A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty and in the point of life,” said the well-known Francophile Thomas Jefferson. | PARIS — “A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty and in the point of life,” said the well-known Francophile Thomas Jefferson. |
| And now, too, lessons in how not to trip over electric scooters. | And now, too, lessons in how not to trip over electric scooters. |
| Since the arrival here about a year ago of the vehicles — called “trottinettes” in French (“un scooter” is a wee motorcycle) — they have been draped all over the city. They are parked next to the fire-damaged Notre-Dame, leaning outside the Louvre and resting on the bustling corners of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Parisians and tourists alike can be seen zipping up and down the windy streets of the Left Bank and the narrow alleyways of the Marais. | Since the arrival here about a year ago of the vehicles — called “trottinettes” in French (“un scooter” is a wee motorcycle) — they have been draped all over the city. They are parked next to the fire-damaged Notre-Dame, leaning outside the Louvre and resting on the bustling corners of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Parisians and tourists alike can be seen zipping up and down the windy streets of the Left Bank and the narrow alleyways of the Marais. |
| For the uninitiated, e-scooter companies rent the battery-powered vehicles through mobile apps to users who pick them up and drop them off anywhere in the city. | For the uninitiated, e-scooter companies rent the battery-powered vehicles through mobile apps to users who pick them up and drop them off anywhere in the city. |
| [Kara Swisher answered your questions about this column on Twitter.] | [Kara Swisher answered your questions about this column on Twitter.] |
| Along with high-profile American scooter start-ups like Lime — the first to arrive in Paris — there are close to a dozen other companies here vying for customers. There are about 20,000 scooters in Paris now, and some estimate that there could be up to 50,000 on the streets by year’s end. | Along with high-profile American scooter start-ups like Lime — the first to arrive in Paris — there are close to a dozen other companies here vying for customers. There are about 20,000 scooters in Paris now, and some estimate that there could be up to 50,000 on the streets by year’s end. |
| While these start-ups are all paying fees for the privilege to operate here, and despite rules about where users can park and restrictions on riding on sidewalks, French law on urban mobility has been deliberately loose to encourage the use of new transportation options. | While these start-ups are all paying fees for the privilege to operate here, and despite rules about where users can park and restrictions on riding on sidewalks, French law on urban mobility has been deliberately loose to encourage the use of new transportation options. |
| And that has made this scooter scene the most out of control I have seen in any big city. | And that has made this scooter scene the most out of control I have seen in any big city. |
| Don’t get me wrong, I love to scoot, and I do it often, including a whole bunch of times here in Paris. Zoom, I went to meet someone for lunch in a bistro near the Bastille. Zip, that was me going under the Arc de Triomphe. Zut alors, me again sailing along the Seine on a Bird. | Don’t get me wrong, I love to scoot, and I do it often, including a whole bunch of times here in Paris. Zoom, I went to meet someone for lunch in a bistro near the Bastille. Zip, that was me going under the Arc de Triomphe. Zut alors, me again sailing along the Seine on a Bird. |
| Here’s the thing: As good as public transportation is here — the Métro, for example, remains clean, elegant and fast — it’s hard to resist cruising effortlessly through the streets of this picturesque city. It’s much better than biking. | Here’s the thing: As good as public transportation is here — the Métro, for example, remains clean, elegant and fast — it’s hard to resist cruising effortlessly through the streets of this picturesque city. It’s much better than biking. |
| And the French seem to feel the same way, along with the legions of tourists who swarm Paris in the summer. Despite the sweltering temperatures over the past week, there was not a part of the city where I did not see the active use of scooters, part of a widespread trend toward alternative forms of transportation that is sweeping Europe and includes bike-sharing and other “micro-mobility” vehicles. | And the French seem to feel the same way, along with the legions of tourists who swarm Paris in the summer. Despite the sweltering temperatures over the past week, there was not a part of the city where I did not see the active use of scooters, part of a widespread trend toward alternative forms of transportation that is sweeping Europe and includes bike-sharing and other “micro-mobility” vehicles. |
| But as we see with all change, there is rancor. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, recently called the scooter craze “anarchic,” which is another way of saying it’s a big mess. And there are, of course, stories of accidents, including two deaths here, as well as hand-wringing about the piles of scooters marring the scenic streetscape. | |
| Jérôme Coumet, the mayor of Paris’s 13th arrondissement, has made it clear he has had enough of the scooter craze. He published a multipart thread on Twitter showing the removal of poorly parked scooters — most of which were Lime brand — by the police. “Our duty is to protect the freedom of pedestrians to walk undisturbed quietly on the sidewalks,” he added, later noting that there would be more such kidnapping of badly behaving scooters. | Jérôme Coumet, the mayor of Paris’s 13th arrondissement, has made it clear he has had enough of the scooter craze. He published a multipart thread on Twitter showing the removal of poorly parked scooters — most of which were Lime brand — by the police. “Our duty is to protect the freedom of pedestrians to walk undisturbed quietly on the sidewalks,” he added, later noting that there would be more such kidnapping of badly behaving scooters. |
| Lime, of course, has been trying to soothe the Parisian ire. The company has offered free helmets to users, signed on to voluntary principles of operation and launched a cheeky ad campaign to face the issue head-on — profanity-laced complaints plastered on billboards with the footnote “Not applicable to scooters that respect pedestrians/that stay off the sidewalk/that are safely parked after use.” | Lime, of course, has been trying to soothe the Parisian ire. The company has offered free helmets to users, signed on to voluntary principles of operation and launched a cheeky ad campaign to face the issue head-on — profanity-laced complaints plastered on billboards with the footnote “Not applicable to scooters that respect pedestrians/that stay off the sidewalk/that are safely parked after use.” |
| It’s a clever way to address Parisians’ concerns directly, as Lime and others seek to expand throughout Europe with both scooters and bikes. And it’s part of the ongoing challenges brought on by tech-driven change that started years ago with other start-ups. | It’s a clever way to address Parisians’ concerns directly, as Lime and others seek to expand throughout Europe with both scooters and bikes. And it’s part of the ongoing challenges brought on by tech-driven change that started years ago with other start-ups. |
| When I was in France four years ago, I had to get out of my cab at the airport and walk up the highway a mile because of a nasty blockade by French cabbies over the fast growth of Uber in Paris. This time I took lots of ride-shares without any problems, a system that still has troubles but is working well overall. | When I was in France four years ago, I had to get out of my cab at the airport and walk up the highway a mile because of a nasty blockade by French cabbies over the fast growth of Uber in Paris. This time I took lots of ride-shares without any problems, a system that still has troubles but is working well overall. |
| Across the Channel in London — my next stop on this trip — there are much stricter laws regulating scooters. One such regulation bans all kinds of “carriages” on the sidewalk. This has slowed the arrival of Lime, Bird and other scooters companies. While Lime bikes are in London, the government has not decided whether to allow scooters permanently, despite aggressive lobbying by the well-funded and hugely valuated scooter companies. | Across the Channel in London — my next stop on this trip — there are much stricter laws regulating scooters. One such regulation bans all kinds of “carriages” on the sidewalk. This has slowed the arrival of Lime, Bird and other scooters companies. While Lime bikes are in London, the government has not decided whether to allow scooters permanently, despite aggressive lobbying by the well-funded and hugely valuated scooter companies. |
| In fact, many think it could take years for Britain to allow them into the market. So, with my dreams of whizzing past Buckingham Palace and over London Bridge dashed, I plan to walk instead. | In fact, many think it could take years for Britain to allow them into the market. So, with my dreams of whizzing past Buckingham Palace and over London Bridge dashed, I plan to walk instead. |
| That will be just fine because, as Samuel Johnson once said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford.” Even without scooters. | That will be just fine because, as Samuel Johnson once said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, for there is in London all that life can afford.” Even without scooters. |
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