PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 03: A woman wears a white shirt, sunglasses, a black and white polka dots skirt, a black bag, white sneakers, and is riding electric a scooter Lime-S from the bike sharing service company "Lime", outside Valentino, during Paris Fashion Week -Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019/2020, on July 03, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 03: A woman wears a white shirt, sunglasses, a black and white polka dots skirt, a black bag, white sneakers, and is riding electric a scooter Lime-S from the bike sharing service company "Lime", outside Valentino, during Paris Fashion Week -Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019/2020, on July 03, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 03: A woman wears a white shirt, sunglasses, a black and white polka dots skirt, a black bag, white sneakers, and is riding electric a scooter Lime-S from the bike sharing service company "Lime", outside Valentino, during Paris Fashion Week -Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019/2020, on July 03, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 03: A woman wears a white shirt, sunglasses, a black and white polka dots skirt, a black bag, white sneakers, and is riding electric a scooter Lime-S from the bike sharing service

New laws in the works after backlash against commuters on scooters


Damien McElroy
  • English
  • Arabic

As the European transport system turns increasingly to electrification, the spread of battery-powered scooters is causing increasing disruption on city streets.

The sight of besuited commuters standing precariously cross-legged on the whizzing is not just a hipster novelty. It has also exposed out of date transportation regulations. The deaths of a handful of users has also underlined the dangers of adding a new element to the transportation mix.

Germany has been among the most welcoming in its official response. It has made the scooters legal on the roads and imposed a speed limit of 12 kilometres per hour.  However that is twice speed of the average pedestrian, something that has caused friction between pedestrians and scooter users.

Mike Brown, the head of Transport for London, has called for an overhaul of the draconian but poorly enforced prohibition for the scooters on British streets. In an interview this week he described the dangers posed by users resorting to the pavements move around the capital.

Recalling a scene on the pedestrian-only Millennium Bridge across the River Thames, Mr Brown said licencing of the devices was “inevitable”. “I was on the Millennium Bridge the other night and there was some guy on an electric scooter rocketing down the middle,” he told the Evening Standard. “This is not actually all that safe.”

Advocates of the devices argue that as a mode of transportation, the scooters are environmentally friendly and convenient. The rise of short-term rental schemes has become both a boon and black mark against the trend.

"The scooter is emission-free, allows flexible use, and it is also fun to ride,"  Bodo von Braunmühl, head of corporate communications at Tier, a Berlin-based startup, when the devices were made legal there. "The scooter is designed to complement other means of transportation, such as public transport."

Anne Hildago, the mayor of Paris, has promised a crackdown on technology firms that have flooded the city with App-based rental schemes. Across to Le Parisien newspaper, the market itself is in freefall amid a backlash against discarded scooters that litter the pavements. It said that at least six of a dozen operators have suspended operations in recent weeks.

“It’s not far from anarchy and it’s extremely difficult for a city like ours to manage this service,” she said as she introduced speed limits and fines for violations earlier this year.

French scooter users are estimated to represent one quarter of all electric scooter users in Europe. Anger at the role of venture capital-backed firms has had parallels with the backlash against Silicon Valley rental firm AirBnB in the property market.

The overall trend towards electric vehicles is growing rapidly with one industry report estimating 26 per cent annualised growth through 2025. Electric vehicles accounted for 46 per cent of all unit sales in Norway in 2018.

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PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

While you're here
MATCH INFO

Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')

Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')

Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 720hp

Torque: 770Nm

Price: Dh1,100,000

On sale: now

HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

RESULTS

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)

Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)

Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)

Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)

Sunday

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)

Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)

Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)

Eibar v Alaves (7pm)

Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)

Monday

Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)

 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea