Because of electric scooters, Prague 2 is demanding an increase in the powers of town halls and the police
A common image from Podskalí, electric scooters obstacles on the sidewalk. Photo: Jan Puci
In connection with electric scooters operating on the streets of the capital city, the management of Prague 2 demands to increase the powers of the town halls and the police, to change the law and for the operators, the companies Lime and Bolt, to set up special information lines and change the application so that it is not possible to leave the scooters in other than designated places. Andrea Zoulová, spokeswoman for the city district, informed about it.
This week, representatives of the town hall and the city police met at another joint meeting with employees of the LIME and BOLT companies to evaluate the fortnight’s cooperation. Although the system of regular checks from the side has brought a slight improvement, according to the town hall, it only solves the situation temporarily, regardless of non-systematic, and thus the situation with the storage of electric scooters in the central part of Prague 2 still remains unsatisfying.
“The two-week system of increased checks has brought a slight improvement, but overall it is still not satisfactory on our streets. Especially in the evening and at night or on weekends, it’s still bad. We insist that clear rules must be set, responsibility for their compliance and a system for their enforcement. We also demand legislative changes and greater authority of town halls and the police in solving this issue. We are willing to cooperate on the preparation of the amendment to the law, which I offered to the Ministry of Transport Martin Kupek in a letter in which I asked him for help,” said the mayor of Prague 2, Alexandra Udženija (ODS).
Read also:
Prague 2 requested bike racks last year, the municipality is ordering them this spring. Yet they are not in the streets
“We also deal with the problem in a broader spectrum. At the moment we are waiting for the results of the analysis from the Chamber of Deputies. She will bring experience from big European cities. I expect an interesting comparison not only of legislation from other countries, but also of knowledge from practice and suitable examples for us,” said Deputy Mayor of Prague 2 for security and MP Michal Zuna (TOP 09).
Fortnightly intensive inspections revealed a number of shortcomings, and the Prague 2 City Hall will insist on their elimination. According to Zoulová, one of them is the lack of action and flexibility of the LIME and BOLT companies, especially at night, on weekends and on days off, when improperly parked e-scooters accumulate in the streets.
“We demand that both companies set up special information lines that will serve citizens and the police to report thrown electric scooters or in case of extraordinary events or the rapid onset of winter weather. It is not possible for our citizens and police officers to wait all weekend for the obstructing scooters to be cleared. We are also promoting the relevant changes in applications for the use of electric scooters. Newly, users should not enter parks or leave their scooters in a place other than that designated for this purpose,” Tomáš Halva (TOP 09), Prague 2 councilor for the area of transport, described the meeting.