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MEXICO CITY: Electric scooters have promised to revolutionize transportation in Latin American cities clogged with traffic and smog, but critics say they have only added to the chaos in freewheeling.
Like metal mushrooms that grow overnight, electric scooters of carpool companies were seen by the thousands last year on the streets and sidewalks of Bogota and Lima in Sao Paulo and Mexico City.
For around half a dollar, plus a per minute fee of about $ 0.10 (41 francs), anyone with a smartphone and a credit card can unlock these scooters and silently zip through the pandemoniums of the largest Latin American cities – some of the most congested in the world. .
They then leave the mini-vehicles to their destination.
As a bonus, the "monopatins" – as they are called in Spanish – help to reduce the notorious pollution in the mega-cities of the region by offering commuters an electric alternative, say the lawyers.
But, as in Europe and the United States, the arrival of scooters has also sparked controversy – amplified, in the case of Latin America, by the size of its cities and the anarchy that reigns on its roads.
Walking down sidewalks, in one-way streets and in accidents – at a speed of up to 40 kilometers to the hour (25 miles) to the hour, usually without a helmet and few d & # 39; Experience – scooter users have exacerbated the chaos that new technology was supposed to mitigate, critics say.
Protests have erupted over the fact that bikers tend to leave vehicles in the middle of the sidewalk or even the street when they have finished – sometimes blocking doors, walkways, ramps for people disabled people or the streets themselves.
"Part of the problem in this city is that no one respects anything," said Oscar Barrio, 44, a scooter user in the trendy Roma City district of Mexico City, capital of 20 million residents.
He himself strives to practice good safety practices and respect for scooters, he hastened to add.
But we can not always say the same of his teammates.
A Google search on "accidental monopath" – in Spanish – provides plenty of video evidence.
In March, a scooter user in Mexico City took the wrong direction in a one-way street to be fired into the air by a car turning left.
A similar accident in February killed a 28-year-old runner in the Zona Rosa district of the Mexican capital.
In Lima, Peru, a 63-year-old woman had both arms broken when an electric scooter crashed her on the pavement last April.
And in Sao Paulo, Brazil, authorities recorded 125 accidents involving electric scooters between January and May.
"Neutralized attack vehicle"
Politicians were late in imposing regulations, and locals began to take matters into their own hands.
In Mexico, angry locals scraped QR codes allowing users to unlock the scooters and immobilized others with scotch tape saying "neutralized attack vehicle".
Nevertheless, scooter manufacturers consider Latin America a place of natural development.
According to consulting firm Inrix – Bogota, Mexico City and Sao Paulo – the region is home to three of the five most secure cities in the world, and the resulting air pollution is an increasingly urgent concern.
At the same time, an enlarged middle clbad has more and more access to mobile phones and debit cards.
The San Francisco-based start-up, Lime, is expected to enter service in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Lima this month.
Grin, based in Mexico City, is currently recruiting nearly 70 people in the region and has teamed up with the Brazilian company Yellow to expand their footprint.
Companies tend to adopt a common strategy in the face of accusations of worsening traffic chaos: blaming cars.
Some experts say that argument has something to say.
"What's causing the most accidents (scooter) is the unsafe road environment around them, the speed (by car), the lack of regulation of motor vehicles, the lack of secure infrastructure Said Ivan de la Lanza, World Resources Institute's environmental group.
"We need better ways"
Cities in Latin America are beginning to regulate scooters, albeit slowly. Lima banned them from boarding the sidewalks.
Bogota asked users to wear a helmet, while Brazil imposed a speed limit of six kilometers at the hour in pedestrian zones and 20 kilometers at the time in the bike lanes.
Mexico City has recently limited scooters to bicycle lanes or the street, recommended the use of helmets, imposed taxes on operators and imposed limits on the number of scooters that can be used by each company.
"We think that scooters are a good thing because they encourage electric transport … The best thing to do was to regulate them," said Fernanda Rivera, head of road safety for the Mexican capital.
But even fans admit that the road ahead is long.
"Unfortunately, we need better manners," said Joaquin Ramos, a 33-year-old Mexico City engineer who earns a bit of money recovering and recharging scooters: around $ 1.50 ($ 6.50). RM) per vehicle.
"Sometimes people just leave them in the middle of the street." – AFP
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