After 4 years of electric scooter-sharing services in France’s capital city, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has confirmed a vote to determine if the micromobility option will be banned in the city.
The referendum in April has been announced following a lengthy review by city officials, with the mayor herself in favour of the ban. What are the key issues facing the use of e-scooters in Paris?
National laws are vague in terms of regulation.
Residents feel that riders are reckless.
Excessive riding on sidewalks and in pedestrianised areas.
Poor parking and the free-floating nature of the service have created an eyesore.
Antisocial use of the devices, particularly by tourists.
It should be noted that steps have been taken to address some of these concerns, such as limiting speeds and releasing a clear code of conduct, but the e-scooters remain extremely divisive.
With 12 active bike and e-scooter sharing services in the city, Paris is one of the largest markets for micromobility services. The results of this referendum will therefore be watched closely by industry and consumers alike; the conclusion may well inform future decisions in comparable locations.
Just south of the center of Brussels, residents have become increasingly frustrated with the nuisance of shared e-scooters, leading to a complete ban in the municipality.
In Uccle, e-scooters have created major concerns due to the way in which riders were ditching their means of transport. Shared public spaces were overrun much to the frustration of city-dwellers, resulting in a complete ban on the shared micromobility fleets.
“The Brussels municipality has this week demanded by letter to the operators of shared scooters that the shared scooters must be removed from the streets within 10 days. They must also ensure that the shared scooters are no longer parked within the municipal boundaries. The new rules do not apply to private e-scooters and driving through the municipality on an e-scooter is still allowed.“
Belgium’s e-scooter and LEV legal backdrop continues to shift following the devices’ rise to popularity from 2018 onwards. In the last two years, bans have been placed on riders below the age of 16, the two-person riding of e-scooters, sidewalk riding, and limitations have been placed on speed in public areas. The latest development is another step toward Belgium finding a system that works for all citizens.
As of July 1, 2022, new federal laws for the use of e-scooters in Belgium came into place. In the Brussels Capital Region, even stricter measures have been implemented to protect pedestrians. The changes are part of an effort to address concerns over road safety and hindrance linked to the increasing use of e-scooters.
To address the concerns over e-scooter safety new regulation was required. Georges Gilkinet, Federal Minister of Mobility, explained: “The world has changed and so has our mobility. The electric scooter is now part of our daily life. But with the increase in the number of accidents, sometimes with serious consequences, it was necessary to react. New rules will come into effect from 1 July to better protect scooter users and other road users. Let’s strive together for more safety and fewer accidents on our roads. All For Zero”.
The new rules:
The new rules mean that users of e-scooters, or any other micromobility transport method, will be assimilated to cyclists. In effect, riding on sidewalks or in pedestrianized areas is no longer permitted. In situations where permitted, speed must be reduced to 5km/h and pedestrians have right of way.
Additionally, a minimum age requirement of 16 years has been introduced, and riding e-scooters with two or more passengers is prohibited. Alongside these changes, new guidance for e-scooter parking has been introduced, including signage for designated parking destinations, non-parking zones, and laws against obstruction of the sidewalk.
Additional rules in Brussels:
The new rules have also been welcomed in the Brussels-Capital Region. At the same time, the Region has introduced additional rules on the use of e-scooters. Elke Van den Brandt, Brussels Minister of Mobility, added: “Electric scooters are a convenient way to get around, as long as they do not hinder pedestrians and people with reduced mobility. That is too often the case now. Thousands of these shared scooters appeared on our streets and it is high time for stricter regulation. In addition to the federal rules, the Brussels-Capital Region decided to automatically limit the speed of scooters in pedestrian zones and to limit the number of scooters per operator.”
Specifically, e-scooters in pedestrianized zones are now limited to 8km/h, while across the entirety of the region, the top speed is limited to 20km/h. For comparison, the general top speed limitation of e-scooters in Europe is 25km/h.
Bart Dhondt, Mobility Councillor of the City of Brussels, stated: “Parents, their children, and people with mobility problems no longer felt comfortable in the pedestrian zone. By ensuring that the shared-use e-scooters can only travel at a walking pace, the pedestrian zone will once again become a space for everyone.”
From 1 April new guidance will come into effect across the UK for shared micromobility trials, ensuring safety and best practice is at the forefront of the scheme.
Each e-scooter in UK-wide micromobility trials will be required to display a manufacturer label with a unique identification number; these should be clearly visible on either the steering column, side, or rear of each vehicle. A variety of reasoning is given for this updated guidance, primarily easier identification of individual riders by both the police and the public. In the UK public usage of a privately owned e-scooter is illegal, identification numbers will aid in differentiating vehicles that are not part of micromobility trials.
Outside of unique identification numbers, a range of additional recommendations have been released focusing on safety for both riders and the public. Recommendations include a lower speed limit for new riders, good-parking incentives, safety events, and technological improvements. The full release can be viewed here.
Following the extended trial period, evaluation of the scheme’s success will inform the future of micromobility services in the UK.
The e-scooter sharing services have now been used to travel upwards of 1.6 million kilometers
New data shared by Transport for London (TfL) and three e-scooter operators Dott, Lime, and Tier announced that their ongoing shared micromobility trial in London has surpassed the milestone of half a million trips. Total journeys reached 585,000 in early February, covering a total distance of 1.6 million kilometers since the scheme’s launch just 8 months ago.
Following sustained success, the trail has seen a six-fold increase in available vehicles, now standing at 3,585 scooters; the number of partaking boroughs has also doubled. As seen in similar schemes, there is much discussion regarding the safety of e-scooters in regard to riders themselves as well as pedestrians. For this reason, TfL is working to develop a universal e-scooter sound in collaboration with UCL – this will allow easier identification of the vehicles, particularly for those with visual impairments.
Helen Sharp, lead in the TfL e-scooter trail shares:
“We’re working closely with operators, councils, and people across London to build on the success of the trial so far and we hope that even more people will be able to take advantage of the trial over the coming year. The anonymised data we gather is crucial and we’ll be analysing this closely so that we can learn more about the role e-scooters could play in helping people move around London sustainably.”
Comments Off on Centre for London report lauds shared e-scooters and advises regulations needed
A recent report recommends that the use of private and shared e-scooters be legalised, hand in hand with the introduction of thorough and practical safety measures.
With shared e-scooters having been in a trial phase in the UK capital for over four months now, Centre for London, a dedicated think tank focused on developing new solutions to London’s critical challenges, has released a report looking at how micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters and e-bikes could help to reduce car use, cut carbon emissions, and improve air quality in the capital.
Key findings state that:
“Two thirds of car trips in London could be made by micromobility vehicles in 20 minutes or less, with most of these trips taking place in outer London where there are fewer public transport options.”
and
“Micromobility vehicles emit between 34 and 90 per cent (shared e-scooter vs private bike) fewer carbon emissions than private cars, and do not produce harmful pollutants at the point of use.”
Some measures put forward included giving powers to Transport for London to manage shared e-scooter schemes within the city, making sure all vehicles meet minimum safety standards, and making it a requirement for shared scheme providers to locate schemes in neighbourhoods with fewer public transport options. The government can also support lower-income and ethnic minority groups in making e-scooters more accessible through tax incentives and loans.
The report calls specifically on the government to enact these changes, and outlines how improvements are needed, for instance in streamlining the riding and parking experience, and in ensuring more joined-up services across regions. Operators too can raise their game, in areas such as pricing, delivery of training, vehicle safety measures and more.
Josh Cottell, Research Manager, Centre for London said:
“Legalising private ownership and riding is the first step towards building a gold standard for micromobility in the UK, with Transport for London – and other equivalent authorities in towns and cities across the country given the powers to arrange shared schemes for micromobility vehicles as they emerge.”
