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E-scooter: ended up as scrap in public waters
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Christian Charisius / dpa
The recovery of e-scooters from the Rhine in Cologne could begin at the end of June.
Depending on the approval of the authorities, the campaign should start on June 28th and 29th, said the Shared Mobility platform on Monday, which claims to include nine providers, including e-scooter rental companies.
A company from the Netherlands that specializes in underwater drones has been commissioned.
First, an underwater drone will recover the electric scooters lying in the water.
Construction divers would then be commissioned to fetch those scooters from the Rhine that the drone's gripper arm could not grasp.
Association promises regular cleaning work
"Cleaning work of this kind will in future be carried out regularly not only in Cologne, but also in other cities such as Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich," explained the association.
It is feared that damaged e-scooter batteries could affect the water quality.
According to the Cologne district government, however, there are no corresponding indications so far.
According to a report by WDR, divers found more than 500 e-scooters on the bottom of the Rhine in Cologne alone.
The German Association of Cities recently demanded that rental companies should pay more attention to electric scooters that have been left behind or are ready for scrap in parks or bodies of water.
E-scooters have been on the road in Germany for two years.
For this purpose, a regulation that has been in force since June 15, 2019 lays down technical requirements and rules of conduct.
The vehicles are allowed to travel between 6 and 20 kilometers per hour.
You have to ride on cycle paths - there are none on the road.
Rental companies offer e-scooters in several cities.
ngo / dpa
