Operators take it slow, 2 are already safe

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In Cologne, at least 500 rental scooters are said to be in the Rhine. The operators had promised a short-term rescue. Little happened. Not even a handful of scooters have been recovered so far.

At the end of June, research by Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) caused some outrage. According to this, hundreds of e-scooters from the five large rental companies based in Cologne should already rot in the river. According to a local construction diver, he and his colleagues have come across significant quantities of these electric scooters on every dive. A sticky mass is already emerging from many of them.

However, distributors do not see themselves sufficiently responsible, according to the interview partner of the WDR. A rescue offer that had been requested was rejected by a rental company with the words that it was much too expensive and then the scooters would have to stay where they are.

After the reporting, the topic had developed a strong dynamic. The mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, had also positioned herself, because around 500 scooters alone should be in the section of the Rhine that can be assigned to Cologne city center.

Under this pressure, the joint platform “Shared Mobility”, an association of rental companies, announced that it would salvage all electric scooters located near Cologne in the Rhine at its own expense. The concerted action should start on June 28, 2021.

The lenders wanted to use a team of robots and underwater drones. First of all, the Rhine should be scanned by drone in order to record the positions of the scooters. Once the positions have been clarified, a special drone with a gripper arm should pull the electric scooters out of the water. Divers with special equipment should only be used where this is not possible.

The rescue operation did not take place. According to the Waterways and Shipping Office (WSA) Rhine, the rental companies had not presented a conclusive concept. The planning had a number of gaps. In particular, the planned use of drones met with reservations.

The authority had advised the operators to think more about the use of industrial divers. Ultimately, the rental companies decided to do just that. On Monday, two electric scooters were pulled out of the mud. Sebastian Schlebusch, spokesman for the micromobility working group at the Shared Mobility (PSM) platform, confirmed this to the German Press Agency.

A sonar boat had previously identified the places in Cologne’s Rheinauhafen where e-scooters could be. Of the 60 potential sites, 18 should have been searched by noon on Monday. The already mentioned two scooters came to light. They were hoisted ashore with a crane and dismantled directly by specialists from the Remondis disposal company in order to safely remove the flammable batteries. The divers also found iron girders, a chair and tin boxes, as reported by Markus Hambüchen from the construction diving company.

The rescue in the Rheinauhafen is to continue on Tuesday. All 60 potential sites should be submerged by Tuesday evening. Then the 45 other sites outside the Rheinauhafen can be tackled. The truth is that apart from the estimates, there is no reliable information about the actual number of damaged scooters.

In any case, it is good that the rescue operation is flanked by a catalog of measures agreed between the city and the operators, which among other things contains a limitation of the fleet size and the designation of parking areas. This could prove to be more expedient in perspective.