Groups of young people are planning an organised electric scooter ride in Nicosia on Halloween in response to measures police intend to take and to recent media reports. The plan is set out in a video and poster circulating online, which call on e-scooter and e-bike riders to gather on October 31.
The material has been brought to the attention of police, who will look into it, Phileleftheros was told. Residents have called on the authorities to step in “before someone gets hurt”.
According to the poster, posted on social media, the gathering is set for 5.30pm on October 31, at Lidra Parking in Nicosia. It says electric scooters and electric bicycles are welcome.
The message on the video and poster says that if police think this is a big deal and are already putting them in the news, then they are not ready for Halloween. “We are taking our revenge for the attempt to destroy our dreams,” it says.
Elsewhere, the video carries a caption telling the media to put them in the news as much as they like, because they are not going anywhere, along with the slogan ‘Riding is not a crime’. It includes screenshots from Phileleftheros’s recent report, as well as clips of group rides and wheelies on public roads.
Residents who have contacted Phileleftheros have expressed concern for the safety of pedestrians, drivers and the riders themselves. They distinguish responsible scooter use from group rides by young people on public roads, who they say break traffic rules and create dangerous situations.
Traffic police told Phileleftheros last week that they could not yet seize electric scooters from riders who break the law, because a decree giving them that power had yet to take effect. Once it does, scooters can be seized if they are ridden by children under 17, used where they are not allowed, or able to travel faster than 25 kilometres per hour. Videos on social media had shown young riders in large groups doing wheelies on main roads in Nicosia.
