Over 10k trips on the first day and cashback for low speed: electric scooter season begins in Kazan
Despite lengthy discussions, the electric scooter rental service is now up and running
The electric scooter season has finally kicked off in Kazan — with locals completing 13,000 trips on the first day alone. This year, the launch of the kick-sharing services in the city was delayed — the season typically begins with the snow melt (late March to early April). The delay can be attributed to the development of new measures aimed at improving the safety of personal mobility devices (PMDs). For more details, read the full article in Realnoe Vremya.
Kazan residents have been longing for scooters
Yesterday, after a long wait, the electric scooter season officially began in Kazan, and locals immediately took advantage of the opportunity — on the very first day, they completed 13,000 trips, with the number of unique users reaching 7,500. This was reported to Realnoe Vremya by the press service of the kick-sharing service Whoosh, citing a joint study with the operator MTS Yurent.
“This year, kick-sharing scooters appeared on the streets of the city unusually late. The residents and visitors of the capital of Tatarstan were eagerly awaiting the return of this new form of urban transport. Daily, kick-sharing services received hundreds of inquiries about the resumption of the season," noted the press service.
A total of 2,800 scooters are available in the city, with the number expected to gradually increase. On the first day, the average trip duration was 13 minutes, as people used the scooters for short journeys from home to the metro, from the metro to work, and back, rather than for recreation.
As is often the case with scooter rentals, there were some violations — two operators issued five fines for careless parking and failure to yield at pedestrian crossings, and blocked four accounts for riding two people on a scooter and allowing a child to use one.
To prevent violations, the scooter services and local authorities are introducing new measures. For example, one operator has implemented a cashback system for trips made at low speeds.
A long wait for the season's opening and debates surrounding electric vehicles
This year, the electric scooter season in Kazan started with a significant delay — it traditionally begins when temperatures are above zero and after the snow has completely melted. However, this time, both the city authorities and the kick-sharing services remained silent about the season's launch date until yesterday.
For example, last year, Kazan residents were able to use scooters as early as April 5, while in Innopolis, the season started even earlier, on March 28.
This year, however, scooters appeared on the streets of Kazan on April 21, but rides were still not allowed. Despite this, the start of the season (which happened the following day) was not announced by either the city authorities or the kick-sharing services.
Such a delayed season opening did not go unnoticed by the residents of Kazan — on April 19 and 20 alone, they sent 1,537 inquiries to Whoosh regarding the situation. Many users expressed frustration over the unavailability of the service, particularly those who had purchased annual subscriptions, expecting to use the scooters once the warmer weather arrived.
The delay is presumably due to the extensive discussions surrounding the safety of using personal mobility devices. The Kazan Executive Committee told Realnoe Vremya that solutions are being developed to ensure the safety of pedestrians, drivers, and electric vehicle users.
Specifically, it is proposed to reduce the number of scooter parking spots — particularly in the city center. Narrow sidewalks in this area often make it difficult to safely use PMDs.
“It is suggested to remove 568 parking spots out of the 1,340 that were available last year. As a result, the parking capacity could decrease from 13,000 to 8,000 scooters. The proposed speed limit is 20 km/h. This initiative has been submitted to the Government Commission of Tatarstan for Road Safety, and its decision is currently awaited," the Executive Committee reported.
In Naberezhnye Chelny, for example, scooters have not been operating for two years.
“There’s no point in going against progress”
As Vladlen Kopvillem, a lawyer with the Federation of Car Owners of Tatarstan, told Realnoe Vremya, scooters have already become an integral part of urban life, and this needs to be accepted as a fact:
At the same time, Kopvillem is confident that the safety of scooter riding should be improved, both for the users themselves and for pedestrians. In his opinion, the authorities will gradually begin to tighten penalties for violations and introduce new measures.
“The most difficult thing is regulating private scooters — services themselves impose certain restrictions, sometimes beyond the scope of legislation. As for private owners, it is currently challenging to hold them accountable," he stated.
First and foremost, according to the expert, it is necessary to create infrastructure for scooter users. The city should have designated lanes for scooters, similar to bicycle lanes.
“Additionally, the responsibility of parents for underage users needs to be increased. Children often ride scooters even when the service prohibits it, for example, by using their parents' accounts," Kopvillem continued.
Among other possible measures, the interviewee mentioned speed cameras for scooters, increased fines for violations, and the introduction of registration numbers for scooters.