More than 60% of Muscovites and St. Petersburg residents would like to ban electric scooter rental services

62% of Muscovites and two-thirds of St. Petersburg residents are in favor of a ban on electric scooter rental services available in their cities. This was shown by a survey portal SuperJob. Over the summer, the share of opponents of kicksharing services in these cities increased by 18% and 16%, respectively. On average, there are fewer supporters of the ban in Russia: in May 2023, about a third of the residents of 366 cities surveyed spoke out against electric scooter rental services. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin promised to at least “work out” options for “increasing responsibility” when traveling on electric scooters.

The survey of the SuperJob portal was conducted on August 27–28, 2023, and 2,000 people over 18 participated in it (1,000 each from Moscow and St. Petersburg). The researchers were interested in the opinion of residents: is it worth banning electric scooter rental services “in your city”? The question contained a reference to the experience of Paris, where from September 1 all contracts with kicksharing companies will be terminated.

In Moscow, 62% of the respondents were in favor of the ban, in St. Petersburg – 66% (that is, every two out of three citizens). In the capital, among the arguments in favor of the ban, respondents cite the fact that electric scooters are “often abandoned on the sidewalk or at a public transport stop”, they are driven by “drunk people under the age of majority”, and in general it is “a very dangerous mode of transport, especially when There are two people on it.” At the same time, 22% of residents of the capital voted against the ban, noting that the industry needs strict rules and restrictions.

In St. Petersburg, opponents of kicksharing made a similar argument, saying that riding on wheeled vehicles “very disturbs pedestrians” and causes accidents. 24% of respondents in St. Petersburg spoke out against the restrictions. These respondents spoke, in particular, about the need to create infrastructure in the city for both scooters and bicycles, including dedicated traffic lanes.

It is noteworthy that in May 2023 the same SuperJob portal conducted a similar survey in 366 localities. On average, in Russia, there were fewer supporters of a ban on kicksharing services at that time – 37%. Among the reasons for dissatisfaction, the respondents also mentioned the lack of a driving culture, non-compliance with the speed limit and the danger to pedestrians and drivers posed by service users. Most supporters of the ban were among Russians aged 35 to 44 and with an income of 50,000 to 80,000 rubles. The residents of Ufa and St. Petersburg turned out to be the most intolerant – the share of opponents of electric scooter rental reached 44% and 42% there. At the same time, over the summer of 2023, SuperJob notes, the number of opponents of scooter rental services in Moscow and St. Petersburg increased by 18% and 16%, respectively.

According to the portal truesharing.ru, in 2022, 40 Russian kicksharing operators had 192,000 electric scooters, which made 103.5 million trips (15.5 million users). The revenue of the companies in terms of one scooter amounted to 69.2 thousand rubles. with an average cost of a minute of rent of 7.3 rubles. For more details on the dynamics of the kicksharing market, see the material on p. 7.

Traffic rules with rules for users of electric scooters came into force on March 1. Now such technical devices are allocated to a new category of “means of individual mobility” (previously, their users were considered pedestrians). For users, prohibition signs have been introduced, restrictions on leaving the roadway, and a speed limit of 25 km / h has been set, which also applies on sidewalks, where electric scooters are allowed to travel in certain cases.

It should be noted that Dmitry Chuiko, CEO of Whoosh (a kicksharing operator), last Monday urged not to compare the state of affairs in Moscow with the Paris experience. “Players worked there according to the free float system,” explained Mr. Chuiko, who was quoted by TASS. “This is when the scooter can be placed anywhere. People weren’t happy about it.” Russian companies, he said, are in dialogue with regulators, for example, Whoosh advocates the development of regulatory regulation for the use of electric scooters.

Meanwhile, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin promised on August 29 to “be sure to work out” at least options for “increasing responsibility” when traveling on electric scooters. Mr. Volodin cited on his Telegram channel the statistics of accidents involving such vehicles, emphasizing that since 2019 their number has increased by more than 40 times. The Speaker of the State Duma also recalled the upcoming ban in Paris, stressing that in Russia the rules for movement using means of individual mobility (SIM) have been in force only since this year. “But there is something to work on,” added Vyacheslav Volodin. The Ministry of Transport previously reported that the new traffic rules would be adjusted after an analysis of “law enforcement practice.” The Moscow Department of Transport reported that in 2023 a situational SIM control center was created in the capital.

Alexander Voronov