Rental e-trotinettes - useful or dangerous?
In various Swiss cities, the rental Trotti is on the rise. The concept of the modern electric runabout: download the provider's app to your phone, register, unlock the e-troti and drive off. They are already cruising around Zurich, Basel and Winterthur. Other cities are likely to follow suit soon. For TCS, this is the right time to take a close look at and evaluate the electric scooters of the five providers currently on the Swiss market.
The TCS has put the overall concept and the vehicles of the providers Circ, Lime, Tier, Bird and Voi through their paces in the three cities of Basel, Zurich and Winterthur. The extensive random sample test uses more than 20 criteria to assess the safety of the e-rickshaws, their condition and Driveability as well as the functionality of the respective apps. Prices were also compared and the question was answered as to whether the modern e-vehicles offer a real alternative to existing transport options. All five offers were finally rated on a scale of 1 (not recommendable) to 5 (excellent) stars.
Overall rating
In the overall rating, the two providers Lime and Voi score 4 stars (highly recommended), while Circ and Tier score 3 stars (recommended). Bird is the only provider with only one star (not recommended). Bird's rating is due to generally poor performance on safety criteria. In addition, the tested rental scooters from Bird did not comply with the Swiss approval regulations in terms of brakes. The provider promises improvement: On request, Bird informs that the service is currently interrupted until a new, tested e-scooter will be available in the coming weeks.
A real alternative
E-scooters can be a real alternative to existing transport options, especially when public transport is dormant or you want to reach poorly served neighborhoods. When the road conditions are good, you can get around with the Electric flasher well and safely, always provided that the driver knows how to handle the vehicle. However, it can quickly become dangerous in the rain, on bumpy roads (e.g. cobblestones) or when crossing streetcar tracks. The TCS therefore recommends wearing a helmet every time you ride.
More info
www. tcs.ch
