Voi, Dott and Lime win Paris e-bike sharing tender

The three e-bike sharing companies will jointly operate as part of Paris' e-bike sharing scheme for the next four years, following a successful tender process. Lime and Dott have had their licences in the city renewed, while Voi's participation marks a major expansion for the company.

Sweden-based Voi states it will operate 6000 e-bikes across the French capital, making Paris will now be Voi’s largest market. It joins the other European capitals they operate in such as London, Berlin, Brussels, Oslo, Helsinki, Vienna and Stockholm. Calling it the largest contract in his company’s history, Voi CEO Fredrik Hjelm said: “Being selected by Paris is a major milestone in Voi’s journey. It confirms our strategy of focusing on long-term partnerships with capital cities that lead the way in sustainable mobility. France is now a key pillar of our European roadmap, and we will continue to grow in this market with ambition and responsibility.”

Paris Council has also opted to renew the contracts of Dott and Lime, which already have a presence in the city. Dott currently has around 400,000 users in Paris and says it will now continue investing in its Paris team. Dott Chief Business Officer Nicolas Gorse called for further expansion of infrastructure, saying: “When cities allocate a sufficient number of parking stations to both private and shared micromobility vehicles (with a volume of parking of parking far exceeding that of shared vehicles), and ensure the quality and development of these infrastructures, usage increases significantly.”

Lime has also had its licence renewed, and said it “rewards the long-term commitment of our teams in the field and the quality of service we’ve been providing for over five years.”

The three companies will be permitted to deploy between 3000 and 6000 e-bikes across the city, and will operate alongside Paris’ public bike-share system Vélib. Collectively, it means Paris now has Europe’s largest cycle-sharing scheme.

The expansion of e-bike sharing follows controversy in Paris over the ubiquity of shared e-scooters. 2023 saw Parisians vote to ban shared e-scooters from the city in a referendum, following years of complaints about poor parking and safety concerns. Previously, there were as many as 15,000 shared e-scooters on the city streets, but these have all since vanished. Private e-scooters are still permitted, however.

mfn.se, zagdaily.com, cities-today.com