We remove improperly left e-scooters immediately - insists CEO of providing company

Following criticism of those failing to adhere to regulations relating to the use of e-scooters, not least those who simply abandon them wherever they want rather than taking them back to an agreed parking facility, a journalist of the Zuger Zeitung spoke with the CEO of Circ, one of the leading providers of e-scooters for hire in the country, and the one who provides them in Zug, Torge Borkholtz.

When it was put to him that people’s enthusiasm regarding e-scooter provision in the canton had diminished of late, Barkholtz retorted that, on the contrary, enthusiasm in Baar and Cham had increased, with demand for this efficient mode of transport in the Zug area very high.

As to their being simply abandoned anywhere once used, the CEO admitted that this happened and said that the company would be reminding customers about how they should ride and park them over the next few days. Furthermore, an increased number of employees would be deployed to monitor the situation on the streets to ensure correct parking and that the scooters were in a safe state.

As to the specific problem of abandonment in Baar, he said that there was a logistics team present in the municipality to collect abandoned e-scooters needing recharging or serviced prior to their being made available again. “If our attention is drawn to wrongly parked ones or those interfering with other road users, we go out to retrieve them immediately,” he said.

When he was reminded of the situation in Paris with e-scooters causing congestion, he pointed out that some 12 companies provided 20,000 e-scooters there, whereas in Zug only 150 had been made available. Hence it was unlikely such chaotic scenes as in Paris would occur in Zug.

When it was put to him that some municipalities were considering having specific return areas, he reiterated Circ’s policy was one of free-floating, whilst working with certain hubs, such as at stations and at locations of other cooperation partners, so customers would know where to be able to find them.

As to the frequency of accidents involving them, he said e-scooters let out by Circ had been tested by an official agent not least with regard to brakes and lighting and such like. “Furthermore the e-scooters we use have been certified safe, with permission for them to be used on Swiss roads duly given. We also remind our clients that they should not be used by more than one person at a time, not used under the influence of alcohol, and never on a pavement,” he said, adding that, with the company employing its own staff, who are continually re-trained, the safety and quality of the e-scooters were guaranteed.

It was also put to him that with e-scooters having a short life, they were not as ecological as portrayed, to which the CEO replied that the e-scooters they used were very robust and built for a long life, the company’s own mechanics continually conducting repairs, ensuring they could be used in the long term.