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Over a Thousand Bikes Destroyed in Bike-Sharing System This Weekend

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The Editor

© Jagoda Bartus / Le Bonbon

For the past few weeks, the capital has been on edge. Tensions reached their peak this Saturday, October 17, when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the streets to protest. Unfortunately, the demonstration wasn't without some incidents, much to the dismay of the bike-sharing platforms.

For the past few years, Lime, Dott and other Voi scooters have become little darlings of Parisians. Both because they are breaking records in terms of usage, making them an unmissable reference for all your trips around town, but also because they've achieved the status of favorite kindling for starting fires at every protest. And last Saturday, October 17th was no exception, with a heavy toll following an eventful weekend.


Insufficient measures

Every time, it's the same story. While the vast majority of protesters demonstrate peacefully, championing more than legitimate demands, some take the opportunity to cause damage, using everything at

whatever they can get their hands on as a projectile, barricade, or fuel to set fires. First and foremost, free-floating electric bikes, whose batteries represent top-quality fuel. Faced with this reality, the various companies operating in the capital have nonetheless learned their lesson, and are now taking steps to anticipate as much as possible. Thus, this Saturday, October 17th, no fewer than 400 bicycles from the fleet had been removed from around the official route, to limit spillover. A decision, however, far from sufficient.


Considerable Damage

Indeed, according to initial estimates, no fewer than 5% of the fleet — made up of 18,000 bikes — was damaged in one way or another over the weekend. The total represents more than a thousand bikes across the capital, ten times more than during celebrations following the PSG's double victory in the Champions League, for example. For two days, images of bicycles burning, then their blackened remains made the rounds worldwide. Of all the bikes affected, approximately 300 belonged to Vélib, and between 300 and 400 from Dott, Lime (which lost 6% of its fleet) and Voi. For each of them, on the lacross France, the bill amounts to several hundred thousand euros. Swedish company Voi is already claiming between 900,000 euros and one million euros in damages in Paris alone.