In an effort to tackle misplaced e-scooters taking up Etterbeek streets, the municipal council has decided to remove them and punish drivers for their improper parking.
"They leave them everywhere and anywhere," this is what an Etterbeek resident told French-speaking newspaper SudInfo about the growing trend of badly parked e-scooters in the municipality.
As a result, the mayor of Etterbeek Vincent De Wolf (MR) has launched a "shock operation", calling on three different services to remove the scooters and contact the operators to issue fines to offending drivers.
Law enforcement, the police and Etterbeek's Public Works Department now join forces once a week and patrol the streets for misplaced scooters.
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They take photos of those that they come across and note the identification number before confiscating them and bringing them to the underground parking of Etterbeek's town hall.
The identification number is then sent to the e-scooter operator who should find the account of the driver in order for the municipality can send them their fine.
Uncooperative companies
However, since the operation's launch, not a single one of their operators has come to retrieve the scooters.
Vincent De Wolf told SudInfo that this may result in a change in sanctions: "If there is continued unwillingness on the part of the operators, we will be sending them the bill."
De Wolf wants a longer-term solution and has called for "drop zones" in Etterbeek – 40 or so areas dedicated purely for e-scooters to be parked.
Working with the scooter operators, De Wolf hopes that any users found to have abandoned their vehicles outside of these delimited areas will be fined.
