Sharing scooter users in Rotterdam are increasingly leaving their helmets lying around

In association with

Rijnmond

NOS News•today, 08:45

After using a shared scooter, the idea is that the helmet is put back in the intended case, but that does not always happen: in Rotterdam the helmets are increasingly left on the street or in the ditch.

“We fish two per day from the water,” says Jan Pieter Kalkman of the Schieland and Krimpenerwaard water board to Rijnmond. This is not only a waste of helmets (they are so dirty that they end up in the trash), it can also hinder water drainage. The helmet can clog a diver, a tubular structure that connects two bodies of water. During rain showers, excess water cannot be drained properly.

Volunteers from Zwerfie Rotterdam, an organization that cleans up litter, also regularly encounter a helmet from a shared scooter. Volunteer Ivo Rodermans believes that scooter sharing companies can easily solve the problem. “That you cannot deregister your scooter in the app if the helmet is not in the box. If you arrange that, this problem will disappear like snow in the sun.”

Technically that is possible, says a spokesperson for scooter sharing company Go Sharing, but it costs more than replacing lost helmets. “So that’s not worth it.”

Since January 2023, helmets have been mandatory for drivers and passengers of scooters that can travel at a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour. This obligation already applied to the use of mopeds and (electric) scooters of a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour.

The municipality of Rotterdam promotes the use of electric shared transport, because it is better for the climate. The municipality is trying to reduce the nuisance caused by illegal parking with special gathering places in the city, writes the regional broadcaster. The city has three major providers of shared scooters: Felyx, Check and Go Sharing.

But leaving helmets behind goes against the idea of ​​clean driving, says a Go Sharing spokesperson. “It is bad for nature. But most users store the helmet neatly,” he emphasizes.

It is therefore not a huge cost item for the companies, writes Rijnmond. Their business model takes into account the replenishment of lost helmets. There is a fine for losing a helmet, but the perpetrator is usually difficult to trace. A helmet case usually contains two helmets, so if one is lost, the next user will not immediately have a problem to report.

It is not clear why people leave the helmets lying around. However, stealing has been going on for some time. For example, officers in Aalsmeer and Uithoorn confiscated several helmets a year ago. These were worn by young people who did not ride a rented scooter, but for example their own scooter.

Go Sharing also notices that the helmets are seen as collector’s items by some. “They save student houses, and we also see meal deliverers driving with them.”