A short-lived electric scooter adventure

As soon as the streets of Tórshavn were cleared of ólavsøka visitors, 50 electric rental scooters popped up in various locations across the city.

The scooter initiative came from Icelandic entrepreneur Ebbi Asgeirsson, who had imported the scooters from Iceland with the intent of starting up a rental programme in Tórshavn under the brand name ‘Hopp’ (Jump).

He said yesterday that he has not yet been given a fully valid reason for the confiscation nor a satisfactory clarification of what laws he has breached.

Legal complications

“We imported the scooters legally, we paid our VAT and our customs duty. We also notified the police and the tax authorities prior to our arrival in Tórshavn,” explains Asgeirsson.

“The only response we received from the police was ‘Thanks for your notification’.”

According to police chief Michael Boolsen, someone tried to import electric scooters to the Faroes in 2019. Faroese Vehicle Administration Akstovan classified these scooters as so-called ‘pocket bikes’, which are illegal in the Faroes, and the 2019 scooter project never materialised.

A traffic hazard

RFF, the Faroese Road Safety Council, says that electric scooters pose a significant traffic risk.

“These scooters are used in many cities across the world, and there is a great deal of evidence to support the claims that these scooters are not safe on the roads,” Lovisa Petersen Glerfoss, the head of RFF, said yesterday.

"The scooters are a great way to explore a city, but the risk of injury is significant – and then of course there is the possibility of drunk people grabbing a scooter to ride home after a night out on the town. Needless to say, this would present a serious traffic hazard.”

An unresolved issue

Asgeirsson responded to this by saying that intoxicated people should never ride these scooters. When asked if he can guarantee that this would not happen, he said:

“No, that would of course be difficult. But can anyone guarantee that drunk people don’t take a ride on their bike, motorbike or their car?”

He added that he is willing to take this matter further, even take it to court should it come to that.

Read the Faroese version of this article here 

Translated by prosa.fo.

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