Gelsenkirchen enforces e-scooter ban: Bolt and Tier face 350 vehicle removal
As the e-scooter providers Bolt and Tier do not want to integrate identity checks into their vehicles, they have to leave the city of Gelsenkirchen.
An overturned scooter in Bremen.
(Bild: heise online / anw)
Gelsenkirchen has become the first German city to enforce a total ban on e-scooter rental firms. The Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court has ruled that rental companies Tier and Bolt must remove their 350 electric scooters from the city by the weekend. This follows recent news that Paris also plans to prohibit e-scooters.
Gelsenkirchen has decided to require e-scooter users to verify their identity in order to better penalise misconduct and enhance road safety. Rental companies have refused this request, which has led the city to not renew the special use permit for e-scooters on public traffic areas and subsequently order their removal.
Tier and Bolt appealed the decision, but the Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court initially ruled against them. "It is not apparent that the city's decision to make the granting of the permits dependent on an identity check of the users is manifestly erroneous and that only the granting of the permit corresponds to a proper exercise of the discretion to which the city is entitled," reads the press release from the administrative court.
Lender against identity check
This provisional decision comes from summary proceedings, with the main proceedings ongoing at the administrative court. Tier and Bolt are also appealing the urgent decision before the Higher Administrative Court in Münster. The rental companies, as reported by WDR, are wrong to criticise the required identity verification and question its impact on road safety. They should accept the alternative technical solutions like reaction tests or speed restrictions instead.
Gelsenkirchen has been taking action against e-scooter drivers on sidewalks and in pedestrian zones since 2021. Time and time again, drivers have exhibited "traffic-unfriendly and reckless behavior", "especially in the afternoon and evening hours", according to a statement from the city at the time. Time and again, e-scooter drivers were found to have consumed alcohol and other drugs and used electronic devices while driving. The city has repeatedly appealed to e-scooter riders to comply with the regulations.
(mack)