In Bavaria, too, electric scooters are gradually being banned from buses, trams and subways for safety reasons. A corresponding ban came into force on Tuesday in the area of the Munich transport company. The Augsburg transport and tariff association is banning the transport of e-scooters from next Monday, and a ban is being prepared in Nuremberg. The background is the fire risk from the scooters.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) recommended in February that customers should no longer be allowed to take e-scooters with them. “The safety of passengers and driving staff is the focus of the ban on transport,” reported Jürgen Fergg from Augsburger Stadtwerke. The VDV had pointed out that the batteries installed in the scooters were not yet subject to sufficient safety standards. There is therefore an increased risk of battery fires or explosions. There have been similar cases on public transport in London, Barcelona and Madrid, among others. “That will happen to us too,” said Elisabeth Seitzinger from the Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft in Nuremberg about the ban on taking along. The ban still has to go through the committees and it could then probably come into force at the end of the month.
There are already corresponding regulations in other federal states. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the transport companies in the largest cities had already implemented a ban on March 1st. E-bikes, electric wheelchairs and senior mobility vehicles are not affected by the measure. The local transport companies emphasized that these vehicles met higher safety standards. City utility spokesman Fergg said the e-scooters could be approved again if their manufacturers also met these requirements in the future.