Just before the tourists rolled into the summer town, the municipality removed electric scooters that were supposed to bring in large amounts of income. 800 of the company’s 1,000 electric scooters in the city were taken off the streets. Ryde Technology believes that Kristiansand municipality has interpreted the law incorrectly. Therefore, Ryde has now gone to court with a demand to be allowed to continue with the rental. The electric scooters that were removed from the streets of Kristiansand. Ryde believes that the local regulation is not valid, and therefore chose to disregard an order to remove his scooters by June 15. Photo: Han Erik Weiby / news Possible claim for compensation A number of municipalities have drawn up their own regulations for the rental of electric scooters. This is done to have control over how many electric scooters will be allowed to park along the street. The local regulation was created based on the act on rental, which came in the summer of 2021. Kristiansand municipality issued a tender for electric scooters with a contract of two years at a time. Ryde was already a player in the city and did not apply for permission to continue operating, since the company believes that the municipality’s regulation is not valid. – We do not have a problem with Kristiansand municipality announcing a competition. Our criticism is aimed at the fact that it does not agree with the rules in the regulations, says Ryde’s lawyer Joar Heide. The municipality believes that Ryde no longer has permission to operate rentals in Kristiansand. Two other companies received permission to rent a total of 1,000 electric scooters in Kristiansand. Ryde then chose to pay a fee of NOK 250,000 to retrieve the seized scooters, wrote Fædrelandsvennen recently. Espen Rønneberg (left) in Ryde Technology with his lawyers Anne Christine Wettre and Joar Heide in the trial against Kristiansand municipality. Photo: Kjetil Samuelsen / news Losing money Ryde has announced that it may be appropriate to demand compensation for lost income this summer. In that case, it will happen later in a court case about the regulation itself. In Agder district court this week, the company asked for the right to continue renting until a final clarification. – We call it a legal bastard, as they have mixed up different sets of rules that are not legal, says lawyer Heide on behalf of Ryde. – We believe that the municipality has used the right authority and made the assessments that must be made, and that the regulation is valid, says the municipality’s lawyer Alf Amund Gulsvik to news. Several municipalities follow Ryde and are concerned that this case may form the basis for how the municipalities elsewhere in the country will manage the rental of electric scooters in a stricter way than they wish. – We know that other municipalities are following this, since it is a new area. That’s what Jan Erik Lindjord says, who is head of the area and transport unit in Kristiansand municipality. The municipality’s lawyer interprets this quite similarly already: – We think the regulation is the same as in other municipalities, says lawyer Gulsvik. Agder District Court heard the case on Tuesday and Wednesday. A decision on a so-called temporary injunction is expected within one to two weeks. One of the 1,000 electric scooters Ryde Technology had in Kristiansand before the municipality started removing them this summer. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news
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Demands to get the electric scooters back on the street – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
