The issue was re-launched by a CNN report: Rome is invaded by “more than 14 thousand scooters, modern wagons that block pavements, make motorists nervous and kill”. The American TV broadcaster has collected the complaint of some citizens and reported the numbers of the “death trap”: four people killed while driving since the scooters were introduced in the city three years ago and “according to the health authorities, the emergency room cities treat at least one serious injury related to the scooter every three days “compared to the fact that” only 2% (about 270) of pedal scooters for hire are used daily “.
The squeeze in the capital
A chaos that prompted the mayor Roberto Gualtieri to put his hand to a squeeze, in addition to the rules already entered into force with the Infrastructure decree (Legislative Decree 121/2021): according to a first draft, the new regulation for the sharing of bikes and scooters in the capital provides for the metal plate, mandatory photograph when parking, maximum hourly rate of 12 euros, rentals only for adults and compulsory registration with an identity card.
The new call: fewer operators
In December the current concessions expire and to get to approve the new assignments the call will have to be released within a few weeks. The number of operators of rental scooters should decrease, from the current 7 with 14,500 vehicles to the future three with a maximum of three thousand pieces per operator. In addition, the Municipality will have to identify the no parking areas and those where the stalls are to be built and to close the rental it will be necessary to photograph the vehicle in the stall and send the photo to the rental company. The minimum distance of 70 meters between the stocks of vehicles of the same operator will then be introduced, who cannot place more than 5 units per block.
In Florence, the mandatory helmet was rejected by the TAR
In Florence, the mayor Dario Nardella was unable to pass the helmet requirement for all those who use scooters in road traffic, including adults. In April 2022 the judges upheld the appeal of a scooter sharing company (Bit Mobility) against the provision of August 2021, underlining the “non-regulatory competence” of the Municipality of Florence in the matter of road safety. Nardella announced the appeal to the Council of State.
Assosharing: no emergencies, rare accidents
Assosharing, the trade association that brings together companies in the shared mobility sector, challenged the reconstruction that emerges from the CNN services. «In terms of accidents, a study by the Sharing Mobility Observatory at the Ministry of the Environment shows that 44 accidents occur for every 10,000 shared scooters. Numbers that indicate that there is no emergency in Italy “reads a note from the association which instead emphasizes” the need to increase parking spaces dedicated to scooters in Rome and to activate new cycle paths, adapting to the numbers and standards of the main capitals European. Overall, it is necessary to analyze what is happening abroad: in London there are three operators with 6,600 scooters and in Paris three operators with five thousand vehicles ».