Corona winter: the end of e-scooters in Dresden?

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Industry leader Lime puts it this way: “Overall, the occupancy rate is lower due to the generally lower mobility.” Germany boss Jashar Seyfi had this sentence transmitted by a communications agency in Berlin after an SZ request.

Nevertheless, Lime “decided to continue offering their vehicles, especially in these difficult times”, albeit to a lesser extent. So fewer scooters than at the height of the start year 2019.

Up to 1,200 lime scooters were in the city before Corona. In the summer of 2020, after the first lockdown, Lime started again with almost half of them.

Young men drive scooters particularly often

Now the company is not giving any numbers. The number of scooters before the lockdown in December and how they were used is kept by Lime, but does not give any reason.

Just this much: Regardless of the currently reduced vehicle fleets, the scooter provider “is basically not concerned with the absolute numbers”. Lime wants to “create a flexible and sustainable mobility offer that fits the needs of the respective city”.

When asked what is right for Dresden, scooter providers can now rely on figures from the town hall. In the representative “Municipal Citizens’ Survey 2020”, the city also asked questions about electric scooters.

Those responsible have summarized the answers under “Mobility and Traffic”. According to this, nine percent of all Dresden residents have already rented an e-scooter. The electric vehicles are particularly popular with 16 to 24 year olds.

Almost a quarter said they had rented such a scooter before. 17 percent of the 25 to 34 year olds and twelve percent of Dresdeners between the ages of 35 and 44 have already used such a scooter.

The other side of the coin: no Dresden resident who was 45 years of age or older stated in the survey that they have ever rented such a scooter.

Scooter rides replace buses and trains

That does not match Lime’s claim, as the scooter provider has set up to offer its scooters for the proverbial last mile, among other things. This means, for example, the walk from a tram stop to a work appointment or home.

This is exactly why the scooters are often near large stops. But the last mile offer apparently does not appeal to Dresden residents who are 45 years or older.

According to the city’s survey results, trips with the e-scooters are mainly young adolescents and men. Women use the scooter significantly less often. The survey also showed that the scooters are mainly used to cover distances that two-wheelers would otherwise run.

These routes make up 61 percent of all scooter trips. Jashar Seyfi wanted it differently: From the Lime managing director’s point of view, they are the ideal means of transport for shorter distances that would otherwise have been covered by car.

19 percent of the Dresden residents surveyed did that. Almost a third switched from bicycles to electric scooters and 61 percent also stated that they would replace journeys with buses and trains with scooter tours.