After the tragedy in Imanta, Riga officials demanded both a change in traffic rules and a ban on such devices riding on sidewalks.
But is the reason in the traffic rules and sidewalks? Rental electric bicycles cost 24 cents per minute for those who take them for a ride. So is it any wonder that riders, trying to save money, break the rules? After all, the longer you stand at a red light, the more money you pay to get from point A to point B.
Just six months ago, at a meeting of the Riga City Council's Transport Committee, the author of these lines suggested that rental companies switch from a per-minute to a per-kilometer rate. In that case, no one would rush headlong to save.
Unfortunately, at that time, rental companies rejected such an innovation. They input low-speed zones into their systems according to the directives of the Riga City Council. But for both them and their clients: time is money. Therefore, the revenues of the companies do not decrease due to the reduced speed; on the contrary, they increase.
It is possible that the deceased girls simply decided to save some cents that were certainly not superfluous for them and rushed in front of the train. And what happened, happened...
In the near future, Riga, together with the Public Transport Chamber, Latvian Railways, and lawmakers, will develop new safety standards for electric scooters and urban infrastructure. "Riga must ensure the safety of the city. And if for someone this means inconveniences in business, it is still the price of human lives," the mayor believes.
Meanwhile, the operator of the red electric bicycles, Ride, was fined 10,000 euros.
