Germany needs concept to exploit e-scooter potential for mobility transition – city association

Electric scooters can contribute to sustainable urban mobility, but their integration in urban traffic must be coordinated jointly by municipalities and e-scooter providers, according to a joint paper published Thursday by the German Association of Cities, the Association of Towns and Municipalities and think tank Agora Verkehrswende*. The organisations have proposed guidelines to better manage e-scooters on city roads. They argue that the e-scooters should be understood "as an opportunity" and not just as a problem. "So far, e-scooters often seem to be just a hip tourist spectacle whose downsides make negative headlines," says Agora Verkehrswende* director Christian Hochfeld. They can nevertheless be developed into a serious mobility component in cities and towns, especially for shorter one-way trips and in conjunction with public transport, the groups contend. The municipalities should try to regulate the rental offers so that weaker road users are not affected and the electric scooters become a facet of the mobility transition," Hochfeld adds.

Agreements between municipalities and e-scooter providers should cover the establishment of parking facilities for rental scooters, the identification of restricted areas for parking and driving e-scooters and ensure reliable complaints management. "Municipalities should work together with providers to set reaction times to remove scooters that have been misplaced, overturned or damaged," the proposed guidelines state. The contact details of the providers should therefore be clearly visible on the rental scooters, they add.

 *Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.