This makes Paris an interesting case study, where regulatory loopholes and brute capitalism meet, with the city’s streets as the battlefield.Ī key puzzle is why the companies that were the first to arrive in Paris exited almost as quickly. Newer entrants such as Jump, Wind and Donkey Republic are all hoping to beat the dockless jinx, and more will certainly come. Despite the numerous failures and the city’s demand that companies show greater responsibility, the venture-capital-driven optimism continues. At least six Paris e-scooter operators have “suspended operations” (read, given up), and that follows the departure of free-floating bikes from Gobee, Obike and Ofo. The result was high turnover, with firms exiting the market almost as quickly as they entered. E-scooters in particular proved to cost far more than they bring in over their extremely short lives and the companies burned through their cash. Not only was the free-for-all bad for residents and visitors, it was cruel to the start-ups themselves. For better or worse, the city’s leadership initially took a hands-off approach to free-floating bikes and scooters and the result was predictable: chaos.Īt the height the boom in the summer of 2019, more than a dozen firms were filling Paris streets with vehicles of all sorts. The region’s population is more than 12 million and it attracted approximately 40 million tourists in 2017, each one a potential customer.
Floating on an ocean of venture capital, the firms took advantage of a legal void and distributed thousands of bicycles and scooters in cities large and small around the world.įor mobility start-ups, Paris offered an irresistible target. The concept was simple: users downloaded an app and paid, grabbed a bike or scooter, and off they went, leaving it wherever they wanted after. Since 2017, a host of start-ups has emerged offering fleets of dockless bikes and electric scooters in cities around the world. Launched in 2007, the system is built around docks – it’s there that customers pick up and drop off bikes, and they also serve as recharging stations for electric models. One of the largest is Paris’s Velib’, with more than 14,000 bicycles. To reduce their carbon footprint and increase mobility options, many cities have been investing in bike-share systems. Globally, transportation generates 14% of all greenhouse gases, much of it for personal transportation. The growing impact and immense risks of climate change are becoming clearer every day, and cities are on the front line. Mobility is a crucial challenge for global cities in the 21st century.
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