Three e-scooter companies withdraw from market in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Three companies operating a total of more than 8,000 e-scooters in Istanbul have pulled out of the market of their own accord.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME) unanimously accepted the proposal to cancel the e-scooter permits belonging to three companies.

Within this scope, three companies with a total of 8,234 scooters were withdrawn from the market voluntarily.

Superpedestrian Türkiye Transportation Technology Corporation, which provides services under the “LINK” brand, stated that it decided to stop its e-scooter operations in order to comply with the decision made by the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) and to avoid further fines for violating the rules of the KVKK.

“At’la Git” and “Hey Scooter” brands, which are affiliated to the At Technology Company and Serim Management Systems Company, respectively, demanded the cancellation of their e-scooter permits on the grounds that they could not efficiently operate in the field due to some problems in the supply chain.

Using e-scooters have become a hot topic of debate in the country. Recently, the Kadıköy Municipality removed excessive e-scooters that were improperly parked and occupying sidewalks, which reduced the walking space and posed a hazard to pedestrian safety, and took them to the municipality warehouses.

At least 682,246 people have used e-scooters, and at least 8.1 million trips have been made in Kadıköy in the last three years, it suggested, adding that there have so far been no fatal accidents and that the district ranks first in the use of e-scooters per capita in the world.

The municipality had earlier warned e-scooter renting companies to remove excess vehicles occupying sidewalks, or else they will tow them away.

In some regions of the Kadıköy district, it is quite difficult to walk on sidewalks due to scooters tied up to electricity poles, trees, signboards and entrances of buildings.