The City of Tartu, in cooperation with Bolt, is changing the parking regulations for scooters
Tartu City Government Press Release
/ Bolt, which rents electric scooters, and the city of Tartu are set to sign an agreement which aims to create a better and safer traffic culture in Tartu.
Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas said that on the initiative of the city government, Bolt, the police and representatives of the city government have met several times in order to work together to ensure the safer use of scooters. ‘I am glad that together we are taking an important step forward in improving road safety and creating a better urban space.’
At the start of the upcoming season, the parking arrangements for Bolt scooters in Tartu will change, bringing along two important changes for users. Starting in March, under the new agreement, scooters can no longer be parked on pavements with a width of under 1.5 metres. The restriction has been introduced into the Bolt app, meaning the system will no longer allow users to end their rides on narrow pavements.
According to the Traffic Act, there must be at least 1.5 metres of space for pedestrians next to a car that is partially parked on the pavement. Tartu is not making an exception when it comes to parking scooters on the pavement, as there have been problems with scooters blocking pavements in the past. The right to park Bolt scooters on wider pavements remains, but the City of Tartu asks that all users park their scooters in such a way that other road users are not disturbed.
Instead of leaving the scooter on the pavement, Bolt, together with the City of Tartu, encourages users to instead park the vehicle in the parking areas created for it. To this end, the city of Tartu has set aside 18 locations in public areas, where Bolt will build hard-covered parking spaces for scooters. At the request of the company, charging points can also be built in parking areas, where users can leave electric vehicles to charge themselves. Parking areas are mostly located in or near the city centre, but they are also available in various city districts, for example, Annelinn, Tammelinn, and Tähtvere. Use of the parking areas reserved for scooters is planned to begin in Tartu in late spring.
Tartu Deputy Mayor Raimond Tamm said that the active use of scooters in Tartu is gratifying, and together they are working on ensuring that the challenges associated with innovative solutions are gradually solved. ‘Construction of scooter charging stations in different locations and prohibiting the parking of scooters on narrow pavements are innovations that allow us to take a big step towards a traffic culture that is considerate of everyone,’ said Tamm.
Aleksandr Lilišentsev, the head of Bolt’s scooter division in Estonia, said that they are happy that together with the City of Tartu there is an opportunity to promote scooter parking culture. ‘We have mapped all pavements in the City of Tartu with a width narrower than 1.5 metres, and we have restricted the parking of our scooters in these areas. In addition, during the spring we will bring charging stations for parking scooters to the new parking areas in the city. The charging solution for scooters and electric bicycles is the first charging station of its kind in our industry, where the user simply needs to push the vehicle into the socket and it will automatically end the ride and start charging. As a result of these two changes, the parking culture for micro-mobility vehicles in Tartu will hopefully see a significant improvement’ said Lilišentsev.
The reason for regulating the scooter rental service is primarily the safety of riders and other road users. In addition to polite parking, both Bolt and the City of Tartu remind you that you must not ride a scooter while intoxicated or simultaneously with other people. To ensure safety in traffic, the speed of scooters is limited to 25 km/h and it is recommended that users wear a helmet while riding.
The City of Tartu and Bolt signed an agreement to provide a scooter rental service in Tartu for three years, according to which the service provider will bring up to 1,000 scooters to the city. This number may be increased by an agreement between the parties.
Last changed 22.02.2023
