In the capital, not only the central district of Prague 1, but also the second district is trying to regulate shared scooters. Prague 2 has been asking for a change in legislation since 2018, but now, according to the management of the duo, the situation is unbearable.

The turning point for Prague 2 was September this year, when, according to the town hall management, a huge number of discarded scooters littered the sidewalks.

“We mainly care that the rules are clear and that it is clearly established how users can use the scooters,” the Prague 2 transport councilor Tomáš Halva (TOP 09) told Novinkám.

“We perceive the fact that the rules are not given now as a fundamental problem. We want systems to start solving it,” added Halva.

But the systemic solution would be to change the legislation. That is why the management of Prague 2 started to solve the problem with the Chamber of Deputies and the Ministry of Transport.

Prague 2 City Hall communicates with Lime, Bolt and other bike sharing companies. “We sat down with them at the same table and outlined our requirements that we want to meet here in Prague 2. On the one hand, we were concerned about the violation of the places where scooters are left, that is the most important thing for us,” said Tomáš Halva.

“At the same time, we want to prevent passing through certain squares, pedestrian zones and selected parks,” added Halva from TOP 09.

A hotline, which Prague 2 is also trying to introduce, could help solve the situation. “We, as well as the citizens of Prague 2, could call there if we find a scooter that is badly parked, obstructing the passage of citizens or parking vehicles,” added the councilor for transport from the office of the Prague 2 Municipal District.

“Every day, our citizens trip over scooters that are rolling on the ground or standing in the middle of sidewalks. Handicapped or blind people also have to deal with it every day, and it’s also a big problem for mothers with strollers and the elderly. And nobody does anything about it. For a long time, we have been calling for a systemic solution and the setting of clear rules for the operation of shared means of transport,” says the mayor of Prague 2, Alexandra Udženija (ODS).

“Driving on the sidewalk is a big problem for our citizens,” said Halva. “This is, for example, a situation where a rider rushes out from around a corner and threatens pedestrians,” he adds, adding that he deals with uncontrolled driving with the City Police.

The municipality of Brno is also calling for the introduction of regulations in the operation of shared scooters.

“We signed a memorandum with the operators a year ago in which we formulated our goals,” wrote Filip Poňuchálek, spokesman for the Brno municipality.

Brno has already achieved in the year that users are only allowed bicycles and scooters in designated places.

“This November, the updated market order entered into force, which lists 380 places where these means of transport should be stored,” said Poňuchálek.

These are, for example, parking spaces for one-wheeled vehicles, spaces marked with horizontal markings, for example at the Lužánek park, or bike racks created by the city.

The main change in the updated market order is enforcement. The Brno municipality can therefore demand corrections from operators of bicycles and scooters and possibly also fine them. He couldn’t do that until this November.

The Ostrava city district Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz directly prohibited the entry of shared bicycles and scooters into the historic part of the city.

“However, this is only a pedestrian zone,” pointed out the mayor of the city district, Petr Veselka (ANO). “With this, I want to correct all comments when someone says that this applies in the cycle zone or somewhere else. No, it only applies in the pedestrian zone,” he added.

According to mayor Veselka, the introduction of the decree took two years.

“Now we are fighting again with our legislation, which does not recognize the difference between a bike and a scooter. Citizens have a negative perception of scooters,” said Veselka from the ANO movement.

The municipality of Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz consults the operation of bicycles and scooters with the coordinator of bicycle transport in the city and also with the Ostrava municipality. According to Veselka, there is also a reduction in the maximum speed that scooters can go.