“Bureaucratic and economic obstacle” or measure that seeks to “hinder” its use. These are some of the initial reactions of the groups of cyclists and users of electric scooters to the obligation to have compulsory civil liability insurance to circulate in Zaragoza, a measure contemplated in the draft of the new urban mobility ordinance presented yesterday Thursday by the City council.
Some negative reactions that soon emerged on social networks, with doubts about whether the measure also affects children or tourists, were joined this Friday by formal complaints from local cycling groups such as Pedalea.
In a statement, they assure that measures such as requiring mandatory insurance or excluding the possibility of cyclist contraception on streets with a speed limit of 30 km/h “seek to proactively hinder the growth of the bicycle as a means of transportation and discourage people.” who want to opt for it” as a means of travel.
Furthermore, the group defends that this mandatory insurance represents a “bureaucratic and economic obstacle” to a means of transport that stands out for its accessibility for people of all ages “regardless of purchasing power” and that, in addition, is “very difficult”. ” application and monitoring, which would entail an effort for the Local Police that “does not compensate for its establishment.”
In this sense, they state that the only similar experience for bicycles that has existed so far was registered in Switzerland, which ended up repealing its obligation in 2012, so Zaragoza would be “an exception in the world.”
Finally, the group criticizes that this measure shows the “ignorance” of the Minister of Mobility, Tatiana Gaudes, about the Law of Bases of the local regime and the Traffic Law, “which excludes the town councils as the competent administration to impose the obligation of these insurances” and demand his resignation. At the same time, they say they are preparing a series of allegations to present as soon as the public exhibition process opens, which lasts 30 days.
Nor do they seem satisfied in the Association of VMP Users (personal mobility vehicles, such as electric scooters) of Zaragoza, where they agree when pointing out that the new measures will discourage the use of these means of transport.
Its president, Guillermo Royo, also told the newspaper Heraldo de Aragón that they are in favor of having maintained the use of helmets as a recommendation and not as an obligation, as stated in the new regulations.
“In other cities, the drop in users has been drastic. There is a risk that people will switch to cars and there will be more accidents, traffic jams and noise problems. The easy solution has been sought. If it does not work, I hope they correct the situation and turn back,” he lamented. The group will present allegations within the 30 days that the City Council will enable, but “with few expectations”, since their contributions have not been taken into account until now, they add.
The decision to impose insurance as part of an ordinance agreed upon by PP and Vox also does not have the support of left-wing opposition groups. From Zaragoza en Común, they criticized a measure “that is not applied in any Spanish or European city.” For its part, the PSOE accused the popular party of “submitting” to the demands of the ultras and expressed its concern about a project that “is not going to be sustainable, is disorderly and sets the city back 15 years.”
