Prague 2: Three-quarters of district residents hate shared electric scooters

The Prague 2 Town Hall in particular has been a vocal critic, and has banned them across the entire district, but the ban has been difficult to enforce without cooperation from Lime. Now the district claims a survey of residents backs them up, showing overwhelming opposition to the scooters.

The district held a survey on transport asking the opinion of its inhabitants on whether or not they want shared electric scooters in the neighborhood.

“The outcome of the vote is clear: the inhabitants of Prague 2 do not want electric scooters in the city district. This confirmed that the attitude of the city district, which is not backing down against Lime, is in line with the opinion of the majority of Prague 2 residents,” the district management said in press release.

The survey took place throughout the month of July, and was announced in the Prague 2 monthly newspaper Noviny Prahy 2, where a poll coupon was printed. A total of 396 Prague citizens voted answered whether they want shared electric scooters in the streets of Prague 2. Of these, 306 voted “no,” 82 voted for “yes” and eight were invalid due to unclear responses.

“We are the first city district to ask its people about their opinion of shared electric scooters. The result of the survey is not a surprise, I know from the reactions of our residents that many mind if electric scooters lie around and ride on sidewalks,” Prague 2 Deputy Mayor Jan Korseska (ODS) said.

The outcome of the survey is not binding, and it also due to its size and method it is not to be taken as statistically meaningful.

The district, though, does plan to take it into account in future negotiations with Lime. Prague 2 management intends to negotiate with Lime, representatives of the Prague City Hall and the Municipal Police on how to ensure the speedy removal of what it calls “unauthorized parked scooters” in the territory of Prague 2.

It will also insist on its essential requirement a written agreement between Lime and the Czech Blind United (SONS ČR) that the scooters meet their needs. The second document the district wants is a certificate from the Ministry of Transport and the Czech Police that shared electric scooters are technically equipped for road traffic as motor vehicles. The scooters are not intended for use on the sidewalks ,and the terms of use agreed to by operators already states this.

The district also points out that shared electric scooters are currently not allowed in Prague 2. ” In practice, this means that none should be parked on our territory, but Lime does not cooperate. The Prague 2 City District has now drawn attention to this fact to the Prague City Hall. The City of Prague initiated the setting of binding rules for the operation of shared electric scooters. The first shared electric scooters appeared in the streets of Prague 2 in the autumn of last year after their operator negotiated with the Prague municipality without the knowledge of the city district,” Prague 2’s press release states

The Pirate Party in Prague 2, which is not part of the ruling coalition, took issue with the methodology of the poll, which required people to read the district magazine, cut out a coupon and go to the Town Hall, while more modern methods such as QR codes could have been used. The Pirates also favor more constructive solutions to shared transport than an outright ban.

See the Pirate Party's Facebook page

To use a Lime scooter, people pay 25 CZK as an initial fee and then 2 CZK for every minute. The scooters should go a maximum of 25 kph, and the Lime company recharges them when the battery runs low.

The terms of use specify that the scooter users have to obey the rules of the road and not cause a hazard to pedestrians. Riders are also supposed to wear helmets, though these are not supplied.

Lime was established in the US state of California in January 2017. It is mainly active in the US and is expanding to Europe. Its founders say they want to reduce people’s dependence on passenger cars for short-distance transport.

Prague also has several bike sharing and car sharing services, including one for electric cars.