The past year has shown us the importance of being ready for significant changes. Since many people have worked from home, with limited mobility and restricted use of public transport, the need for alternative solutions has arisen. It has opened the space for the breakthrough of the favorite two-wheelers. Bikes and scooters, especially those electrically powered, became a real urban hit.
They are economical, practical, and don’t pollute. They can provide us a faster ride to a destination. We don’t have to worry about where to park them. There is enough parking space for them everywhere. Free one.
All of this is very important, mainly if e-bikes and e-scooters help us cut down the emission of harmful gases. However, people avoid the ride on the central streets because the participation of e-scooters in traffic has not been regulated. The Road Traffic Safety Agency (ABS) has already been working on the new Law on Road Traffic Safety. So, it is expected that this traffic area would be regulated soon, improving the safety of the e-scooters owners and other participants in traffic.
According to announcements, we will rely on the experience of other countries when enacting regulations in this area. The Slovenian law regulation is the closest one to Serbia. It limits the ride of e-scooters to pavements and bike paths. The speed is limited to a “walking speed “of 6 kilometers per hour. The penalty for breaking the speed limit is 40 euros, which can be applied in our country. The speed limit provides more safety since the risk of injury increases with a faster ride.
However, it seems that provisions of the law that will be enacted won’t affect much the popularity of two-wheelers. Easy managing, possibility to avoid traffic jams and safety of e-scooters are predominant reasons for choosing this means of transport, especially among younger generations.
In focus:
What bothers the owners of bikes and scooters?
There are places in Belgrade provided for parking bicycles, but things are not so great when speaking of safe and secure parking and charging e-bikes and e-scooters. Lately, the citizens of Belgrade and visitors with electric two-wheelers may relax and relieve. They can park and charge their favorite e-scooters and e-bikes at the special parking place.
The Smart City station represents the joint of safe parking and place for charging electric “wheels “and is located in the Little Kalemegdan Park, between the staircase and the Tsarigrad Road. Charging is free for everybody. With this station, Belgrade joined a few prominent world cities, which enabled the citizens the advantages of parking this type of eco-friendly vehicles.
To unlock the parking space, you need a Bikeep app on your smartphone or RFID card. There are four security levels so you can leave your vehicles parked or on charging without stress. The two-wheelers are secured with steel construction, video surveillance, alarm, and signal forwarding in case of an attempt of stealing. When you get to the parking place, place your card on the reader or unlock it using the app. Then you park your scooter or bike and lock it. Red light signals it is locked. To unlock it, you do the same – tap your card or use the app.
Prepared by: Milica Radičević
Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine WATER RESOURCES.
