E-scooter: Association of Cities calls for upper limit and end of "scooter jenga"

The president of the German Association of Cities, Helmut Dedy, has called for a cap on the number of electric light vehicles two and a half years after the start of e-scooter sharing in German municipalities. "The scooter chaos in public spaces must stop," demanded the head of the municipal top association. In his view, cities should be able to set caps, for example, in "overly crowded downtown areas," Dedy explained to the Rheinische Post. He urged the new Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing (FDP), to quickly enact new and stricter rules and amend the Road Traffic Regulations for the operation of electric light vehicles, which were introduced under his predecessor Andreas Scheuer (CSU) without major restrictions in number or usage zones. Dedy also called for new signs with dedicated e-scooter bans in certain areas where bicycles should still be allowed.

Cologne paved the way: Maximum number and zones limited

The current rules mandate the use of bicycle paths for the e-vehicles, which can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h, and where no bicycle path exists, the use of the roadway. When the situation in Cologne, for example, escalated with countless e-scooters being thrown into the Rhine, the city negotiated stricter rules and a thinning out of the 14,000 e-scooters with the operators. According to the compromise, only 4,500 of the vehicles, instead of 7,000, would be allowed to be set up in the city center. Additionally, new no-parking zones were established to prevent users from parking. There are also plans for curfew hours late at night to curb frequent rides under the influence of alcohol.