Dockless pogo sticks could be joining scooters on streets of Paris

Pedestrians in Paris may feel that they already have enough to deal with with the ubiquitous electric scooters, not to mention bikes, mopeds, hoverboards and of course cars. But the already fairly crowded shareable transport market could be getting a new addition in September - pogo sticks.

Swedish tech start-up Cangaroo has announced that it will be launching a fleet of shared, app-based pogo sticks in Malmo and Stockholm this summer.

And if the trial goes well, the company boss told French newspaper 20 Minutes that they would be expanding to Paris in September. 

READ ALSO

• Paris brings in €135 fines against rogue electric scooter users
• How to avoid falling foul of Paris' new bike and scooter rules
• VIDEO: Frenchman filmed rising at 85km/h on Paris motorway - on an electric scooter

Scooters on the streets of Paris. Photo: AFP

Adam Mikkelsen, co-founder of Malmo-based Cangoroo told French media: "If all goes well, we could deploy our pogo sticks in Paris in September."

"In our opinion, jumping on a stick is fun and can burn a lot of calories. In addition, the lifespan of a pogo stick is much longer than that of an electric scooter. And we don't use lithium batteries."

In recent years Paris has seen an explosion in dockless, app-based, shareable transport, starting with bike hire schemes such as Velib and expanding to electric scooters, or trottinettes.

However while they have proved popular with locals and tourists alike, the sheer number of machines has begun to cause problems for the city.

Scooters being ridden on the pavement are a particular bugbear of pedestrians, while drivers complain that scooters or bikes abandoned in unsuitable areas block parking spaces.

Earlier this month, the Paris mayor's office called together all the major players in the scooter market and gave them a voluntary 'good conduct' agreement to sign, to fend off the threat of further regulation or even a complete ban.

It is already illegal to ride a scooter on the pavement - punishable with a €135 fine - while parking in a way that could obstruct pedestrians or traffic gets a €35 fine.

Cangaroo is launching a fleet of around 100 dockless pogo sticks in Sweden this summer, with fees of around €1 for unlocking, then 20c a minute.

Adam added: "We really love Paris and have received a lot of good feedback and love from Parisians."