Electric scooter users who will be forced to leave their personal vehicles at home from next week due to a ban on them on public transport are “really annoyed” and pondering how to adjust their commutes.
While some e-scooter users arriving at Dublin train stations on Thursday described the restriction as “ludicrous”, “irritating” and “very wrong”, others understood it, with one saying he would “take a little bit of trouble” in the interest of public safety.
The prohibition, announced in August by the National Transport Authority (NTA), comes into force on Monday on Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Go-Ahead Ireland, Iarnród Éireann, Luas and Transport for Ireland (TFI) Local Link services.
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It comes on foot of incidents in Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and London in which lithium batteries in e-scooters overheated and in some cases caused fires on trains and buses.
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“Public transport operators are to prohibit the carriage of e-scooters for safety reasons and to help prevent the risk of combustion on board buses and trains,” said the NTA. “This includes those that can be folded or carried ... It will apply to e-scooters but not e-bikes or mobility scooters.
Will Kilduff, arriving into Connolly station from Co Kildare shortly after 9am, described the impending ban as “kind of ludicrous”. He travels from a “small, side, country road” to his nearest train station.
“If I was to walk [to the station] it would be 25-30 minutes. This cuts it to about eight,” he says gesturing to his e-scooter.
“From here it’s straight down to Temple Bar. I could get a Luas – about 15 minutes. With this, that’s six. If I am honest I think the ban is ridiculous. It is based on isolated cases in places with [hotter] climates. We have a temperate climate.
“There are lithium batteries in e-bikes which have been safely carried on trains, planes and automobiles for years.”
Kilduff is off work next week. “My first port of call is going to be somewhere like Halfords and buying a collapsible, electrical bike. So, another expense and it’s irritating.”
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Magno Mascarenhas who lives in Dublin 1 is on his way to work in Maynooth, Co Kildare. The 40-minute walk from Maynooth station to his job is cut to 15 minutes on his e-scooter. He understands the ban.
“If there is a blast or something, it will be a disaster. I don’t mind.” He plans to keep his e-scooter at a friend’s home near Maynooth station, collecting it each morning. “I can take a little bit of trouble for the safety of everybody.”
Over at Heuston station, Nuno Costas is rushing from his train from Carlow town to his job in a city-centre restaurant. The ban is “very wrong”, he says. He paid €400 a year ago for his e-scooter, which cuts an hour-long walk to his local station down to 15 minutes, and a 40-minute walk from Heuston to 10 minutes.
Betty Telford, on her way to Portlaoise for the day, favours the ban, however. “It could be very dangerous if there’s a fire. A lot of people can’t get off that quick, people who are old or disabled.” Has she any sympathy for people rushing to work? She replies: “How did they get from there to there before the e-scooters came? Buses and walking.”
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