“The electric scooter is here to stay”. This phrase is the most repeated by all the agents involved in the analysis of a phenomenon on the rise in the streets of Tenerifeespecially in the most populated nuclei. The regulation of its use, the preferred option to prohibition –a measure recently adopted by Paris– remains in the hands of the city councils, but the majority of the 31 on the Island have not developed the essential municipal ordinances for various reasons.
Meanwhile, these vehicles move between the balance of positive aspects such as energy savings or the little space they occupy, and the negative image given by the misuse of some drivers by causing traffic problems. In addition, when they are parked in any way and place, they restrict the free movement of people, especially those with disabilities. There is agreement on the need for a uniform municipal regulation and reinforced by the state, but, for now, scooters are in a legal limbo.
Santa Cruz.
The capital is committed to the different models of Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP), including the scooter. The objective is to raise awareness about safe driving, but if it is necessary to penalize. The intention is to achieve a harmony in the circulation between drivers and pedestrians.
The Councilor for Security and Mobility of the Santa Cruz City Council, Evelyn Alonso, summarizes the municipal position on this means of transport that is increasingly seen on the streets with chicharreras. She assures that “scooters are here to stay; Now, it is essential to regulate them, not prohibit them, because state regulations do not do so, that of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), which we are obliged to apply as an authorized vehicle. She values: “We cannot prohibit its use as Paris has done by decree of its mayor (Anne Hidalgo) because it would not be legal.” The French capital has about 15,000 scooters and Tenerife with around 1,100. They made their appearance, recalls Alonso, “at a delicate moment due to the covid. There was a legal vacuum for companies to operate. Two remain today, Link and Bird. The idea of protecting the pedestrian and the driver, both especially vulnerable.
He adds that “the first thing was to locate car parks for VMP, geolocated in the center of the city, where there are more users. The card stops working when the frequency equivalent to the customer’s payment ends and the scooter stays there. There has been improvement and control, for example in pedestrian areas, but if they are not taken to the parking lot it is due to a lack of civility.
The Santa Cruz Traffic Ordinance was struck down by the Superior Court of Justice of Canary Islands (TSJC) in 2019 due to a form defect. The new one has already been initially approved and is on public display. Until it is in force, prior approval of the plenary, the state regulations prevail. Alonso emphasizes: «The DGT, and it seems incredible to me, has not imposed the helmet. In our case it will be mandatory and the speed limit, as now, 25 kilometers per hour. He points out that “last month we received an anonymous complaint about a scooter that was traveling 80 kilometers on the highway from Saint Andrew At least the driver had a helmet. If the Local Police stop it, they sanction it, but we cannot control the speed on private scooters as we do with rental ones.
“The DGT has left this matter in limbo and has been late,” says the councilor, adding: “Just six months ago it determined what type of vehicles of this class can circulate and how. There is chaos in many municipalities and I am proud of our relative control of the business part, now we need to do the same with the private sector. The capital of Tenerife does not plan, like Las Palmas, to manage this type of transport from the public. The bet is, says Alonso, “the administrative concession, from which we have approved the Ordinance.”
The councilor regrets the only deceased in the capital, a 15-year-old boy in Saint Mary of the Sea which, according to his information, was circulating correctly. Alonso calls for prudence: “I ask the user to comply with the famous seven rules, including the use of a helmet.” In addition to proper visibility, through reflective vests at night; do not drive through interurban areas and tunnels; speed limit of 25 kilometers per hour; prohibition of sound devices that cause distraction; Do not drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs and keep in mind that it is a personal vehicle, for a single user. “Sustainable mobility, yes, but with responsibility,” concludes Alonso.
The lagoon.
La Laguna wants to regulate the circulation of VMPs in accordance with the new local mobility model established in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan to guarantee their coexistence, in safety conditions, with circulation on foot, by bicycle and with vehicles engine. A peculiarity is the obligatory specific adaptation in the pedestrian zones and in the protected space of the Historic Site. The process to have the basic cycling network has already begun. There will be seven bike lanes and VMP. The forecast is that it will be a reality in three years to generate a connected, continuous and homogeneous system, respectful of pedestrians and that allows and invites people to travel by bike or VMP in a safe and practical way. This Basic Network will be complemented in the future with new radial routes throughout the municipality of Aguere.
Regarding the regulations and sanctioning processes, the activity is regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Traffic and Road Safety, as well as the instructions and resolutions of the General Directorate of Traffic. There is no specific data on disciplinary proceedings initiated by the Local Police and related to the VMP, since they are structured according to the behavior or action that led to the sanction and not the type of vehicle. Specific statistics are available on the interventions of the accidents in which vehicles have been involved. During 2022, 22 reports were registered with these criteria, with material damage and only minor injuries. During 2023 (until last the 11th) there have been 8 accidents with VMP, only one serious on March 14.
South Zone.
Granadilla de Abona is awaiting the final approval of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, which was already completed last month, and based on this plan, work will be done on the ordinance to regulate the appearance of electric scooters. In Arona, the Municipal Ordinance on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation and Road Safety (2008) prohibits all electric scooters on sidewalks and roads. Systematic controls and other specific ones are carried out. In the last one, 30 scooters were removed from the road to the deposit. The Ordinance establishes that VMPs may not circulate on the road, except in the case of areas or roads designated for them. In Adeje, municipal sources explain that “the problem has been controlled and has not caused serious incidents. In the nearest horizon we plan to be able to implement an ordinance that can regulate its use.
North Zone.
adolfo gonzalez, mayor of Los Realejos, explains that “we are in the process of drafting the Traffic Regulation Ordinance that includes scooters. These vehicles are increasingly seen on our streets and we have even had an accident. It depends on the area because the orography is complicated by the slope and it is not very practical except in the most urban and flat parts”. He added that “there is no sanctioning regime until the Ordinance is approved, but the Local Police acts in the event of infractions.” Personally, she explains “I don’t see it as a safe mode of transport because the driver is very vulnerable. Use them yes, but well regulated. In La Orotava, the sources say, “you can’t even see them, possibly because everything is uphill and it’s not easy to use.” The Corporation that emanates from the elections will work to create a regulation. Finally, in Puerto de la Cruz, they say from the town hall, “No conflict or incident has arisen”. As the DGT regulations state, “Scooters have to circulate, and they do so in the municipality, with security measures such as the use of a helmet.”
Company and user.
Electric scooter companies in Santa Cruz are required to have an app that guarantees real-time information on the location of all vehicles, in addition to providing them with the necessary software to prevent the termination of the lease if it is parked outside the authorized places. Pepe García Estrada is a businessman, member of the Association for Personal and Ecological Mobility of the Canary Islands (AMPECAN) and a scooter driver through the chicharreras streets since 2016. He values the advantages: «It does not pollute, it does not make noise, it is fast from part to part and without parking problems. He considers that there is a great deal of misinformation in the rest of the drivers and a contempt towards whoever wears the VMP because he has experienced it firsthand. With challenges at traffic lights, repeated whistle blows and even insults. He hopes that the lack of regulation will put an end to the publication of the Book of Drivers that the DGT prepares and is expected to be a reality at the beginning of next year.
Andrés was not so lucky when a pothole played a trick on him in full descent down a street in El Toscal. He nailed the handlebars, was hospitalized for five days with temporary memory loss. He was saved because he was going 30 kilometers per hour. At more speed…
The expert.
Bernardo Hernández is a promoter of Road Safety and a member of the International Association of Road Safety Professionals. An authorized voice: «The limbo is in the development of the municipal norm, based on the general guidelines of the DGT. In aspects such as the age limit, the use of a helmet or the obligation to have insurance to drive the scooter. Hernández, who values the work in this area of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, emphasizes the need to “improve and expand road training, both in terms of regulations and driving practice, because incredible things can be seen.” He assures that “a global commitment between administrations is lacking.” The expert emphasizes: “There are those who do not even know how to ride.” Hernández summarizes: «More campaigns, more means for the local police and impose the use of helmets and insurance. In short, legislate, train and that drivers do not see everyone against them because 90% of the victims, the most vulnerable, are them. He concludes: “In Europe, work is already underway to ensure that the new lanes on the road are separated from traffic.”
front opposition.
We want to move, a group that defends people with disabilities, shows its frontal rejection of the scooter. Its spokesperson, Ana Mengibar, is very clear: “They must be prohibited because they are a focus for the creation of barriers, in general, and a serious problem for people with disabilities.” He adds that “the geolocation system has proven to be a failure because the scooters are still lying on any corner.” Mengíbar values: “The exclusive car parks for them only take space away from the vehicles to be empty or semi-empty.”
In Queremos Movernos “we applaud the decision of Paris to prohibit the rental activity, since the companies do not guarantee citizen or road safety.” Ana Mengíbar adds that “according to the Santa Cruz Local Police, the number of vehicles circulating in the city has not decreased, which shows that it is used as entertainment.” Therefore, “ground is not gained for sustainability, but a business that makes cash in public spaces and harms the most vulnerable is favored.” On the other hand, she values, “from the City Council they have given away parking lots and allow public space to be an installation of rental companies, whose activity continues without regulation.” As a summary: “We want to move calls for the prohibition of the activity of renting scooters.”
A controlled means of transport that has the safety of the pedestrian and the driver as its first rule. Regulate the use of the scooter for individuals and companies. Overcoming legal limbo is the task.
