The electric scooter (e-scooter) sharing service that was launched in Stellenbosch Central on 15 October was brought to a halt by the Stellenbosch Municipality.
According to Bradley Levitan, the owner of Gonow on Demand, his company was requested “to halt the deployment of the scooter fleet…across Stellenbosch – and cease operations immediately” on the same day it launched its service.
The request was made by Roscoe Bergstedt, the municipality’s manager of transport, and an official from the Stellenbosch Traffic Department, said Levitan.
The fleet of 200 scooters was previously stationed next to the Eerste River in Die Laan, but has since been removed. PHOTO: Jenna Lemmer
“I was told that although there is currently no law or legislation on electric scooters and they are in a ‘grey area’, that if I continue to operate by allowing the public to make use of the scooters, they can and would by means of a bylaw regarding skateboards, confiscate the scooters,” said Levitan.
If it is not written in the act, it cannot be ridden on the road
Levitan admitted to MatieMedia that Gonow on Demand had not received permission from the municipality to make the scooters available for the public to use on municipal roads when they launched their service.
“The municipality did not grant the company permission to operate on our roads,” said Stuart Grobbelaar, Stellenbosch Municipality spokesperson.
According to Grobbelaar, the motorised scooters are not recognised by the National Traffic Act and may therefore not be used on any public road in the country.
“We all have our hands tied by three words on a piece of paper from 1996,” said Levitan.
Although the National Department of Transport recently amended the Transport Act to allow for e-Bikes with pedals, the amendment does not recognise e-scooters, Bergstedt told MatieMedia.
South Africa currently does not have the infrastructure or regulations to accommodate certain modes of transport – including e-scooters, said Roscoe Bergstedt, the manager of transport at Stellenbosch Municipality. PHOTO: Jenna Lemmer
“There is too much criticism, negativity, and issues around these scooters in other countries. Therefore, National said ‘We are not going to allow this. This is dangerous,’ and therefore it wasn’t taken up in the amendment,” said Bergstedt.
Prematurely allowing the use of the e-scooters on municipal roads will put riders, pedestrians, motorists, and the municipality at risk, said Bergstedt.
“We understand that people want to use [the electric scooters]…If legislation existed, we would have supported it…If a [national] act doesn’t allow these modes in the act, we cannot amend the bylaw to allow it,” said Bergstedt.
According to Roscoe Bergstedt, the manager of transport at Stellenbosch Municipality, irrigation ditches – like this one along Ryneveld Street – and potholes also pose a hazard to riders using e-scooters on Stellenbosch municipal roads. PHOTO: Jenna Lemmer
According to Bergstedt, some safety issues regarding the use of e-scooters on public roads include the need for riders to have licenses and make use of protective gear like helmets. Furthermore, said Bergstedt, the lack of indicators, lights and other features that would make the scooters roadworthy also pose safety hazards.
If the National Transport Act is eventually amended to recognise e-scooters, and the majority of the public is in favour of the use of the scooters in Stellenbosch, then the municipality will work to provide infrastructure to make it safe for residents to use, said Bergstedt.
Acording to Levitan, Gonow on Demand has incurred financial losses of more than R500 000 to date on “collateral damage control” as a result of their delayed operation.