E-Scooters conquer Frankfurt - What do I need to know?

There they roll now. In Frankfurt, the first e-scooters are on the road.

At the drop of a hat, hop on an electric scooter and jet through the city - so that's now possible in Frankfurt. In the Ostend, on the Zeil or in the Gallus I have already encountered timid rolling fellow men. You have probably also noticed some?

I must admit. The idea has charm. The first rental scooters have already been set up in several places downtown.

Fast, easy and everywhere to find

With e-scooters now officially in place, I first wanted to know what the devices looked like, where to find them and what I might need to be aware of. When I asked around among friends and family, about one in three wanted to try the innovative transportation scooters at least once.

But what's rolling our way now?

The most important at a glance:

1. The mini runabouts are only allowed to drive on bike paths and roads.
2. As the city of Frankfurt, let's say, restrained to the scooters reacted, there are also clear announcements on the use. So the e-scooters should be replaced every evening, the used vehicles are brought to a workshop for recharging and also checked.
3. For borrowing and paying, I download an app with my smartphone. Anyone with a credit card can roll right out after paying, a rental employee told me. Renting costs 15 cents per minute.
4. The 400-euro parts have a lifespan of three months in rental mode.
5. A helmet is not compulsory.
6. Driving licence and compulsory insurance are not necessary.
7. The scooters whiz up to 20 km/h fast.
8. Scootering is not allowed in parks, on the banks of the Main, on sidewalks and on the Zeil.
9. Between 120 and 1000 e-scooters are to be distributed in Frankfurt.
10. The scooters are not to lie around like the rental bikes. Therefore, they are collected in the evening by the lender again.
11. The use is allowed from 14 years, the lending is possible from 18 years.
    
    

What bothers the city about the new means of transport?

Frankfurt is simply too crowded to accommodate another mode of transportation, he said. The head of transport sees no transport policy benefit in the pedal scooters.

Unlike in other major cities in Germany, there are "no development gaps" in public transport in Frankfurt. "It does not make sense to me who should rent a scooter for more than one euro out of transport necessity to overcome the few meters to the next stop", Oesterling explained. Who rents it, wants to have fun. This has nothing to do with the planned traffic turnaround. In a similar horn blows also the traffic club Germany, which sees no benefit for traffic, should pedestrians and cyclists now switch to electric scooters.

The fact is: In the U.S., e-scooters are hip. In Paris, they've been around for a long time. There, by the way, with mixed results, as I witnessed during my visit last month.

So, at the Versailles train station, the rental scooters are stored as if on a shelf right at the entrance to the station. I find that quite convenient given all the commuters. What's less convenient is that scooters are also on footpaths there, despite the ban. But now the city of Paris is cracking down, handing out tickets and penalizing behavior that violates traffic laws. Because the scooters have become rampant, the accidents increased.

So it remains to be seen how things will develop in Frankfurt. Yesterday a scooter on the footpath nearly mowed down a friend of mine. I for one am still curious at the moment and would like to give them a try. What about you guys? Would you like to try the trendy means of transport? Or do you find the e-scooters annoying?