The mayor of Lisbon said on Tuesday that the number of scooters in the city is “unsustainable”, many of which are badly parked, and defended a memorandum of understanding with soft mobility operators pending the adoption of the Shared Mobility Regulation.
“The regulation will be done well, but before that I want to conclude an agreement, a memorandum of understanding with all these operators present in the market,” said Carlos Moedas (PSD) at a meeting of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly to present the intervention. municipal executive power from June to August.
Responding to a question from Liberal Initiative (IL) Municipal MP Rodrigo Mello Gonçalves about developing a General Mobility Ordinance to discipline the use and illegal parking of bicycles and scooters in the city, the mayor said that the executive had already held a first meeting with some operators, in which he asked , how many scooters everyone has on the market: “we counted 15,000 scooters.”
At the same meeting, Carlos Moedas learned from a Spanish operator that in Madrid, which has a population and area five times that of Lisbon, there are 6,000 scooters.
“This is a situation in which the council becomes a kind of hostage, because it is not the council that issues licenses to more operators,” said the mayor of Lisbon, explaining that the municipal executive cannot prevent operators from entering the city. .
“We have reached the point where we have several scooters, several cases where these scooters are lying on the ground, which is unstable,” said the mayor of Lisbon, stressing that before the decision is passed, he intends to have a memorandum of understanding with the operators that cannot happen.
Improper parking and driving in the wrong direction are some of the dangerous situations reported with scooters that can lead to accidents, so it’s a “big problem” for the city, Carlos Moedas said.
Regarding the General Mobility Regulation, the Social Democrat stated that “it should be quite limited in terms of parking spaces”, explaining that this requirement will be enforced with technology to ensure that scooters do not fall anywhere and do not fall on the ground.
“We are working hard and well on the regulation, but it takes time and I hope to bring it to the municipal assembly soon,” he added.
An IL MP asked Carlos Moedas for an emergency direct agreement worth 70,000 euros + VAT with the law firm Gama Glória for the “Acquisition of legal advisory services for the development of rules for joint mobility and other ways of sustainable mobility in the city. Lisbon” but received no response.
Rodrigo Mello Gonçalves also asked for information on the shift in the effective date of the ordinance, which was expected next January, but which will happen “with any luck, around June 2023”, stating that “the city cannot withstand another nine months of this anarchy, as for smooth mobility.”
On June 22, the Mobility Adviser at the Lisbon Chamber announced that a municipal ordinance was being drafted to tackle the illegal parking of bicycles and scooters in the city, which should come into force in early 2023.
“We are in the process of developing a regulation on the unhindered mobility of the municipality. We expect the regulation to be finalized and approved both at the council meeting and at the municipal meeting after public consultation before the end of the year. come into force from the beginning of next year,” said Councilor Angelo Pereira (PSD).
On Wednesday, September 14, the Accounts Chamber unanimously approved the proposal to start the procedure for preparing the Regulation on Joint Mobility, which provides for a 30-day period for the participation of any interested parties.
In early June, in response to the Lusa agency, the Lisbon Chamber reported that at the time there were 11,000 scooters and shared bikes in the Portuguese capital (they don’t need to be stowed and customers can leave them anywhere on the streets of the city). ) and four operators, adding that they are studying how to “better regulate the activity and intend to introduce regulation as soon as possible that will allow it to effectively monitor and control dockless scooter and bike sharing activities.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.