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He only had to rent an electric scooter to get back to work. But what would normally have been a simple matter for Edvard Karijord was also stopped.
The 26-year-old had rushed through central Oslo this week and wanted to get back to the office quickly. After checking the rental app for several electric scooters, he found the closest one. However, when he had to scan the QR code to start the bike, nothing happened.
The reason was that someone had taken a black and colored marker over the little box on the board. And the man behind him wasn’t far behind, according to Karijord.
– Surprised
– I saw a man walking in front of me and walking towards that bike. But instead of reserving the bike, he grabbed an alcohol pen and drew the entire QR code before continuing, he tells Dagbladet.
Karijord chose to pick up his phone and film the man. According to the 26-year-old, he continued up the street. There he used the same method to take at least four other electric scooters out of play.
In retrospect, he has shown the video to several of his friends. They themselves have experienced similar incidents in various places in the capital.
– I don’t use scooters that often so this surprised me a bit. It didn’t directly bother me, but rather surprised that someone got so excited about scooters. It can almost seem a bit organized, says Karijord.
He never signed. Then came chaos
– Weakening of the case
Dagbladet has been in contact with electric scooter companies Voi, Tier and Bolt, who rent bicycles in Oslo. All speak of experience with acts of vandalism of this type, but say that it is not very widespread.
However, they find it regrettable that the opponents of electric scooters, who have both loyal fans and strong opponents, are exposed to such actions. Christina Moe Gjerde, CEO of Voi Finland and Norway, thinks it is stupid that the debate has reached the point where illegal vandalism has become an argument.
-I think it weakens the case to the opponents. If your goal is to gain sympathy, I think there are other ways to do it, you think.
– Luckily there has been no life
If an electric scooter is vandalized, Voi takes it in for repair. At the same time, all forms of vandalism are considered to be reported to the police. However, until now, the company has chosen to let the destruction pass, even in those cases where the markers have made the use of scooters impossible.
– Few users have complained about this. They find an electric scooter that is not capable and have to look for another or another alternative to transport themselves. Vandalism occurs more in Oslo than in other European cities. This may be related to the fact that the situation was so precarious all summer, but also to the attitude towards opponents, Gjerde believes.
– A criminal act
Lars Christian Grødem-Olsen of rental company Tier tells Dagbladet that they see an increase in the number of vandalism-related repairs. Like Voi, they take vandalism seriously and think it sad that some resort to such methods regardless of the reason and background.
– It is a criminal act that we strongly condemn, and that is why we take various measures to correct the consequences of such vandalism, says Grødem-Olsen.
Yes, you can lose the note
He believes the debate’s focus on the challenges of parking, long bikes, and safety has helped lower the threshold for destroying scooters. Exactly why so much vandalism is happening to them, however, doesn’t have a definitive answer.
– Regardless, we take these challenges seriously. We have multiple employees on the streets at any time of the day who identify bikes where vandalism has taken place, to ensure our riders always have safe vehicles available, says Grødem-Olsen.
– Reduce the number
Bolt’s regional manager for Northern Europe, Nils Wijkmark, says they have seen a minority of acts of vandalism of the kind Karijord experienced in Oslo this week. He says that the company understands that the situation of electric scooters in Oslo is not optimal at the moment and that therefore it can generate irritation among the inhabitants.
– That said, this is vandalism, and it is something we do not tolerate. We encourage all who have opinions on electric scooters to participate in the constructive and good dialogue that is taking place now, where both the government, the municipalities, the cities and not least the operators are working to find good local solutions, Wijkmark points out.
Like the other two companies, Bolt has also received inquiries about bicycle vandalism. They also have their own patrol that travels daily and checks the scooters.
– In addition, users can report bugs through our application. An obvious challenge is that there are currently too many electric scooters on the streets of Oslo. Therefore, a solution may be to reduce the maximum number of scooters allowed per operator, believes the regional director.
