Helmets were added to some of the Bolt electric scooters in Vilnius after the Seimas considered amendments to the Law on Road Safety, which aims to introduce the mandatory wearing of helmets for users of micromobility devices such as electric scooters and electric bicycles. With this pilot project, “Bolt” aims to evaluate how the obligation described in the bill of amendments to the law would be implemented and how consumers would react to it.
“When we started this initiative, we anticipated that a certain proportion of helmets might be lost, but we did not expect such a rapid loss of helmets. We understand that an e-scooter user may even simply forget that the helmet is still on their head at the end of the journey – we know this has definitely happened and we are grateful to everyone who returned to the scooter and returned the helmet. Unfortunately, these are isolated cases, and the majority – 80%. helmets are missing, probably lost or simply stolen”, Benas Jurlovas, head of operations of Bolt’s sharing services in Lithuania, shares his calculations.
A representative of the company says that users are encouraged to handle helmets responsibly: drivers starting a journey on a Bolt electric scooter in Vilnius see a prompt in the Bolt app to wear a helmet if it is attached to the scooter, and at the end of the trip they receive a reminder to attach the helmet to the scooter again so that could be used by another driver.
“We are glad that during the almost five years that the electric scooter sharing service has been available in Vilnius, this vehicle has really caught on and has become an important part of the frequent trips of the city dweller. I’m also happy that cases of irresponsible or malicious behavior with shared scooters are extremely rare. It’s true, after assessing the disappearance of several hundred helmets, it is obvious that we still have to cultivate the understanding of mutual respect and care for the property shared by many people”, says B. Jurlovas.
Bolt’s representative adds that neither the company’s customer service specialists nor the team that takes care of safe and orderly e-mail. in the use of bicycles and scooters in Vilnius, did not detect and have no knowledge of damaged helmets.
“With this pilot project, we aim to understand whether consumers would be inclined to wear helmets and whether the requirement proposed by the parliamentarians could be implemented, and the fact that a large number of helmets have disappeared somewhat complicates our ability to assess these trends.” Since several hundred more scooters with helmets will appear in Vilnius, we strongly encourage scooter users and other residents to treat these helmets responsibly,” says B. Jurlovas.
Until the end of May, several hundred more scooters in Vilnius will be decorated with helmets. In total, approximately one thousand helmets are allocated for this pilot project.
The “Bolt” electric scooter sharing service currently operates in 14 cities, and electric bicycles can be rented in Vilnius and Kaunas.
Tags: month Bolt helmets disappeared Vilnius
