ADAC Review: Five Years of E-Scooters - Light and Shadow

E-scooters have been allowed on German streets for five years now, and by 2022, around 764,000 scooters were insured. According to an ADAC survey, about 45 percent are privately owned, and the rest are mainly rental scooters, which repeatedly make headlines due to being carelessly parked. More and more municipalities are responding with special regulations. For instance, Berlin has introduced a cap of 19,000 rental e-scooters, created parking zones in the city center, and implemented a special usage fee of 36 euros per year per e-scooter. Gelsenkirchen, on the other hand, caused a stir by introducing an ID check, which led rental companies to leave the city.

Recently, due to the potential fire hazard posed by the built-in batteries, e-scooters, whether owned or rented, are no longer allowed to be transported in public transport in some cities. According to the ADAC, this should not be a permanent solution. Instead, there should be defined requirements for the batteries or safety mechanisms in case of imminent dangers, which would enable the safe transport of e-scooters everywhere.