A plague on two wheels

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They are springing up like mushrooms in Swiss cities, but certified mushroom inspector Marionna Schlatter (42) doesn’t like e-scooters: “Often it’s just annoying.”

SonntagsBlick is out and about in the center of Zurich with the Greens National Councilor and chairman of Fussverkehr Schweiz. It is Friday afternoon, the spring sun warms the asphalt and rush hour soon begins.

Electric scooters have become a nuisance, blocking paths and ending up in rivers and lakes, especially in the summer. We wanted to find out with the politician: is it really that bad?

What immediately stands out: Lime and Bird and Voi can be found everywhere here, the authorities have granted the operators permits for the rental of 4000 scooters. In the late summer of 2021, at the height of the hype, there were 65,000 trips per week. There are now significantly fewer, says the municipality when asked.

Blocked emergency exits

As soon as he started marching, Schlatter stopped and shook his head: “Here we have the classic!” Not far from Löwenplatz, a pink scooter blocks the sidewalk, which is less than two meters wide at this point. “Keep the emergency exit clear” is written on the door next to it: a still life of indifference. Schlatter says that who parks his vehicle in this way does not take any responsibility for the public space in which he moves. A mentality problem: “It’s not mine, someone will clean it up.”

When the scooter boom swept from the US west coast to Europe about five years ago, many hoped for a miracle. That people switch to scooters for short distances that they would otherwise travel by car. People dreamed of less busy streets and free seats in the tram. The opposite has become true, according to several studies: e-scooters cause more traffic, they are mainly used for pleasure.

For Schlatter, the cost-benefit calculation is wrong: “The prophesied relocation effect was wishful thinking – and as it turned out, a false promise.”
The scooters take up space, consume energy, cost nerves – and sometimes human lives. Last year in Switzerland, three people were killed in accidents and 114 were seriously injured.

“Using e-scooters seems like child’s play, but there are risks involved,” says Christoph Leibundgut, spokesperson for the Accident Prevention Advisory Center (BfU). Even small punctures or heels can lead to falls, and there are also collisions with motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.

Blind helpline parked

In the Europaallee near the HB, in the middle of a pedestrian area, someone has parked his e-scooter on the guideline for the blind. More scooters turn walking into an obstacle course. The great thing about walking is that you don’t have to concentrate all the time, says Marionna Schlatter. The resident of the Zurich Oberland does not ride scooters or bicycles in the city. She finds that too stressful or even dangerous. She loves just going and not having to think about anything. “The ruthless scooter riders take that away from us, they limit our freedom.”

District 5 is where the near-crash takes place. Two young e-scooter pilots in a festive look race down the sidewalk towards Limmatplatz, a woman in a wheelchair approaches them. The assumption that the term scooter comes from sidewalk seems to be more widespread. But riding scooters on the sidewalk is prohibited under the Road Traffic Act. “We thought it was the other way around,” the two apologize.

The perfect negative example is a robbery scooter, which makes the space on the sidewalk even more precarious. “Something like that makes me ugly,” says Francesca Figaroli. With the wheelchair she could not avoid the curb into the street. If an obstacle blocks her way, she must turn around and drive to the next crosswalk to cross the street. People don’t think along, says the 43-year-old from Zurich. “Many are behaving really anti-social.”

The rules are clear: in Zurich you are only allowed to park on the sidewalk if a meter and a half wide space remains free. Operators must remove illegally parked vehicles within 24 hours. “The city police carries out as many checks as possible and intervenes if someone does not park their electric scooter correctly,” says Robert Soos of the Security Department.

Missing staff

But that too is wishful thinking, says Marionna Schlatter: “We have an implementation problem.” The authorities lacked the staff for effective checks – and at times probably also the interest.

The municipality of Wetzikon ZH stopped an e-scooter project this spring. The reason was the many negative reactions from the population. E-scooters have recently been completely banned in Paris. As president of Fussverkehr Schweiz, Marionna Schlatter strives for solutions that enable coexistence: Fixed locations would solve the problem of parking wild animals. She welcomes the holder’s liability, as it applies to rental cars. She knows: we won’t soon get rid of these brightly colored vermin that the cities call.

Would the National Council be in favor of a ban? long silence “I don’t see the added value of e-scooters in city traffic.” You tried, says Schlatter, but now you have to admit, “It wasn’t worth it.”

Source:Blick