Scooters, from 1 April stop in Florence to sharing service
After compulsory helmet and insurance difficult to ensure compliance
Stop in Florence to the service of electric scooters sharing. After the no of the Regional Administrative Court of Tuscany to the request made, pending the judgement - by the company Bird, one of the companies awarded the service for the municipality - of immediate suspension of the deliberation of Palazzo Vecchio ordering the stop, the measure of the Florentine municipality will be operative from 1 April.
The difficulty of controls
The administration's decision came after the change in national regulations due to critical management issues. The new Highway Code has, in fact, imposed new rules for scooters, including the obligation to wear a helmet and insurance imposed from 16 May onwards, for the municipality a type of service that makes it problematic to ensure compliance with the rules, even in the face of municipal police checks.
The contracted company remains with an on-demand service
In the aftermath of the deadline, in a note, the bird, an international micromobility company, announces that it will not leave Florence: 'In the city there is great demand for ecological and smart mobility, as the data on the use of scooters show. This is why we have decided to remain with a private rental service, in full compliance with European and Italian regulations on safety and sustainability'. "While waiting for the judgement on the merits by the TAR - explains Giorgio Cappiello, Bird's head of institutional relations for Italia - we have chosen not to interrupt our link with the Florentines, identifying an alternative solution that allows us to continue offering a service to citizens and visitors: the new service will be completely free from public conventions and based on a private rental model, maintaining high quality standards". "If on the one hand the municipality has chosen to suspend the service based on the public notice scheme, with its associated rules," Cappiello continues, "on the other hand, citizens cannot be forbidden to use a scooter for their own journeys. Just like bicycle, scooter or car rental companies, Bird will offer an on-demand scooter rental service'.
