Electric scooters have become extremely popular across Europe. But at the same time, cities are finding it difficult to regulate their use following a spate of accidents. These two-wheeled vehicles, which can travel at speeds in a surplus of 50km/h (30mph), have been associated with hundreds of events and accidents, including numerous deaths.

The city authorities are now looking to implement “clear” and “binding” laws to prevent such unfortunate incidents across Europe. Regulators must determine if e-scooters are for pavements, cycle tracks or roads.

As the vehicles have small, electric motors to control them, it is becoming complex to settle the safest spaces for both users and bystanders. The e-scooters, which are now accessible in more than 100 cities everywhere in the world, have been overflowing streets since the start in current years of sharing systems comparable to the cycle hire projects.

There are, for instance, more than 15,000 e-scooters ready for hire on the roads of the French capital, Paris. In the German city of Cologne, officials anticipate as many as 40,000 users by the end of the year, according to the Deutsche Welle reports. The e-scooter vehicles are also gaining increasing popularity due to their low environmental impact compared with other forms of transportation.

How dangerous are the e-scooters?

 
An outburst in the demand of motorized scooters seems to have taken governments off guard, and companies that manufacture and provide e-scooters are not yet compelled to render certain safety features. Some e-scooters just have one brake and can be challenging to stop when traveling at fast speed.

From January 2018, the least of 11 deaths have been associated with the e-scooters in cities like Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Stockholm, and London. Hundreds of individuals have been wounded in road traffic accidents involving the vehicles.

Some of the recorded incidents are as follows:

• The first electric scooter fatality was recorded in June when a young man was struck by a lorry in Paris, France.
• A 92-year-old woman was murdered when she was hit by an electric scooter user while strolling in the Spanish city of Barcelona last year in the month of August as reported by the Euronews website.
• A 27-year-old man died in a crash in May while riding his scooter in a bicycle lane in Sweden
• Another news reported that a popular TV presenter and YouTuber Emily Hartridge died after she was hit by a lorry while driving an electric scooter in London.

 

What are the laws followed in European cities?

 
The adoption of electric scooters in society as a mode of transport is allowed in many European countries, such as Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland.

But laws in the UK and Ireland ban them from sidewalks and roads. The only places they can be driven is on private land and that too with the consent of the landowner. Riders found using them in public in the UK suffer a £300 fixed-penalty notice and six points on their driving license.

Sweden has forbidden the use of any motorized scooters competent of speeds exceeding 20km/h from its cities’ bicycle lanes.

In Paris, fines of €135 ($151; £116) were recently introduced for riding electric scooters on pavements, and a €35 penalty is issued to users parking vehicles in doorways or blocking pavements.

France is also anticipated to give cities more control to improve scooter use later this year, but it was not clear what actions will be implemented.

A speed limit for the e-scooters has been presented in Belgium, where they can be driven by anyone aged 18 or above following the same laws as bicycles, although the country lately raised the speed limit from 18km/h to 25km/h.

In the Danish capital, Copenhagen, new laws are being considered to restrict the number of scooters that can be parked in designated areas of the city as reported by The Local.

Recent Change of Rules in France:

France established new laws on e-scooters this week.

• The battery-powered, motorized vehicles have been the topic of passionate discussion across Europe amidst reports of increased accidents.
• The nation is now forcing a speed limit of 25 kilometers per hour on the e-scooters with a fine of €1500 for people holding e-scooters capable of a higher speed limit.
• The latest reforms to France’s driving code include a minimum age of 12-years-old to drive an e-scooter.
• The modifications also implement to hoverboards, segways, and “Solowheels”.
• Other important changes involve a ban on multiple riders on e-scooters with a potential fine of €35 for carrying another passenger and banning motorized e-scooters from wandering on the sidewalk.
• Germany approved e-scooters in May but also forbade them from traveling on the sidewalk. In the United Kingdom, it is unlawful to ride e-scooters on sidewalks, public streets or in cycle paths.
• In France presently, if you drive on the sidewalk with an e-scooter, you will be imposed with a €135 fine.
• People having these motorized private vehicles have until July 1, 2020, to guarantee their e-scooter has front and rear post lamps, mirrors, a type of bell and a braking system.

So, now when you know the most fundamental thing to successfully start an e-scooter sharing business in France, let’s move ahead and discuss the French micro-mobility market. 

French Micro-Mobility Market 

Regardless of the business nature and niche, one should study the market to actualize a product/service which is capable of attracting more users than rivals. Talking about the French micro-mobility market, it is a very diverse market and you should study it to build an e-scooter app in such a way that your e-scooter sharing business will break even at a surprisingly fast pace.  

While it is anticipated that the global micro-mobility market will reach $9.8 billion by 2025, it is also anticipated that the French micro-mobility market will contribute hugely. French people who have already adapted the bicycle sharing system have around 10 e-scooter apps to discover and unlock an e-scooter. These apps include, 

• Lime 

To know more about Lime and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog. 

• Bird 

To know more about Bird and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Bolt 

To know more about Bolt and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Wind

To know more about Wind and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Tier 

To know more about Tier and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Flash/Circ 

To know more about Flash and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog. 

• Voi 

To know more about Voi and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Dott 

To know more about Dott and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

• Jump 

To know more about Jump and develop its clone app, read our dedicated blog.

In addition to studying the major business processes of these top startups, every new entrepreneur who is planning to start an e-scooter sharing business in Paris, France should know the business models (or at least the fare structure) of these startups.  

• The 3.25€ for 30-minute model 

Lime, Bird, and Bolt are following this model in Paris, France. This model enables riders to ride an e-scooter for 30 minutes by paying 3.25€ and 1 hour by paying 5.50€. Every minute after that costs another 15 cents. 

Here, it is worth mentioning that Bird asks riders to own a license to ride an e-scooter. Bird has also set the minimum age -18- to ride an e-scooter in Paris, France. 

• The 1€ for 20-minute model 

Unlike Bird, Lime and Bolt, a few Europe-based micro-mobility startups – Wind, Tier, and Circ – are winning the heart of eco-friendly people by offering them the most affordable rides. It only costs 1€ for a 20-minute ride and 15 cents per minute after those first 20 minutes. However, if you take an e-scooter of Wind outside of their business area, you will be hit with a €100 fine. 

• The 15 cents a minute model 

Voi and Dott are following a very conventional model. A rider has to pay 1€ to unlock an e-scooter and 15 cents for every minute of the ride. 

After reading about top e-scooter apps that have already been dominating the French micro-mobility market, if you are having cold feet over the thought of the success of your e-scooter app, here we are sharing the recipe to taste the success even in the overly intensified micro-mobility market of France. 

Recipe to grow from 1 user to 1 million users in French micro-mobility market 

 
We have already entertained many micro-mobility startups of France and so, we own a very purposeful knowledge to conquer the French micro-mobility market. 

• Start small to go big 

If you are a small-scale micro-mobility startup, it is advisable to deploy your e-scooters in a particular suburb, corporate park or university campus rather than a huge metropolitan area. The major benefits of having restricted operation area are the easy acquisition of the permit, limited investment, less number of e-scooters, minimum operating cost and an opportunity to expand the business after earning serviceable knowledge.   

For such startups, we offer a subscription plan which starts from just $500. In our subscription plan, we provide a white label e-scooter app and admin panel to micro-mobility startups and charge based on the number of active e-scooters in their fleet. 

• Integrate dedicated features for different user groups 

When it comes to the users of e-scooter apps, they are generally categorized in major 4 user groups – commuters, tourists, students, and casual users. And if you consider the requirements of each user group, they all have different ones. Which means, it can be a game-changing decision to integrate dedicated features for all 4 user groups. 

Read our dedicated blog to know the requirements of all user groups and features to satisfy each of them.  

• Leverage the AI technology 

If your hired e-scooter app development company develops an AI-enabled e-scooter app and admin panel, your way to run an e-scooter sharing business can be changed dramatically. The AI module of the app predicts the demand in different locations. It also predicts the effect on usage if you change the fare. And most importantly, it solves all queries of the customers within seconds.

• Work with local authorities 

Permit matters the most in e-scooter sharing business and you should keep it with you as long as you want to keep running your business. To avoid falling into the legal battle, you are required to obey all government laws. All new micro-mobility startups prefer to work with local authorities and share an important street and traffic data with local authorities. Local authorities later use this data to build more e-scooter-friendly infrastructure which eventually helps micro-mobility businesses to grow. 

• Put emphasis on e-scooter hardware and safety of riders 

If you want to be profitable in the e-scooter sharing business, you should accommodate only durable e-scooters in your fleet. A durable e-scooter ensures the safety of riders and also increases the unit economics. Recently, many e-scooter startups including Jump and Bird have launched the next generation of e-scooters.   

That’s all! We’ve covered everything you need to know to build an e-scooter app in France, except … 

How much does it cost to build an e-scooter app in France? 

Coruscate is the top e-scooter app development company that has developed 10 e-scooter apps for the different markets including an e-scooter app named Citylib for Paris, France. 

Our 100+ app developers, app designers, IoT engineers, business experts, and legal advisors all work together to make your business journey painless. They’ll help you get the permit, decide on the business model and select the most affordable and durable e-scooter hardware. 

The cost to build an e-scooter app in France depends on the approach you choose. 

• To develop a custom e-scooter app with all custom features, we charge somewhere between $15K to $25K. 
• The price to develop the clone of some popular e-scooter apps starts from $10K. 
• And our subscription plan for the white label e-scooter app starts from just $500. 

To learn more about our cost structures and get a personalized quote, please feel free to contact us. Our one of the senior business experts will welcome you with the free e-scooter app demo and free consultation.