Prague has joined the growing list of cities that have decided the best way to deal with issues arising from rental e-scooters is to ban the scooters.
The ban, which takes effect in January, is part of a package of new rules for personal transport, including new rules on where bicycles of any kind can be parked.
“The end of electric scooters approved!” proclaimed Zdeněk Hřib, who is Prague’s deputy mayor for transport at Prague’s city hall. “We are introducing clear rules that will clear public space from uncontrolled scooter traffic, which was often used in the city centre more as a tourist attraction than a means of transport and caused chaos on and in pedestrian zones.”
The complaints have been of the usual variety: speeding on sidewalks, abandoning scooters on pathways and parks and endangering pedestrians. On the other hand, the city is working toward increasing use of shared bicycles, including e-bikes; they have a much lower accident rate than the scooters.
