Electric scooters taken off the streets again

Fifty electric rental scooters were placed on the streets of Tórshavn on Wednesday.

About 16 hours later, the scooters were gone.

“Police told me that either I remove the scooters from the streets or everyone using them will be slapped with a DKK 1,000 fine,” says Icelandic entrepreneur Ebbi Asgeirsson, who runs rental scooter company ‘Hopp’.

“Of course, I don’t want the users to be fined, so I withdrew the scooters.”

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Many children and youths were seen riding the scooters in the streets.

“What we saw was in clear violation of the traffic safety rules,” says police chief Michael Boolsen.

The police and the Faroese Vehicle Administration maintain that it is against the law to use these scooters in areas covered by the Road Traffic Act.

Police yesterday issued a statement outlining the traffic risks posed by electric scooters and warned that riders should expect fines of approximately DKK 1,000.

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Asgeirsson says he is disappointed to see children riding the scooters because the terms and conditions in the scooter rental app clearly state an 18-year age limit.

He has withdrawn all the scooters, but he will keep pushing for the right of eligible people to use his scooters.

“I do not accept this decision. I’ve taken this matter to court before and I will do it again if I have to,” he says.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.