- The city of Montpellier is attacking scooters that circulate in the Ecusson, despite the ban. She specifically points to the meal delivery men.
- Sunday, 18 were fined. An action that has outraged some Internet users.
- Sébastien Cote, the elected security official, assumes : “Would it shock someone to see a truck driver running a red light in town, fined? », He confides.
The city of Montpellier (Hérault) no longer wants scooters in the Escutcheon. And the main targets are the deliverers meals, many of which do not ride on bicycles, but on motorized two-wheelers. Sunday, Sébastien Cote (PS), the assistant in charge of security confided on Twitter that in “one hour, verbalizations ”were drawn up on the pedestrian area of the city for“ unauthorized circulation of scooters to the detriment of residents ” , stunned by the noise of the bikes. According to the elected official, almost all the reports concerned delivery men working for Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
Last night in 1 hour, 18 verbalizations in the pedestrian area for unauthorized scooter traffic to the detriment of residents (noise).
Almost all the verbalizations concern @ ubereats_fr and @ Deliveroo_FR !
Are we talking about it, gentlemen managers? @ MDelafosse @ Fvillette
– Sébastien Cote 🇫🇷🇬🇷🇪🇺 (@CoteMontpel)
January 3, 2021
And, according to Sébastien Cote, the verbalizations will continue. Because, for the elected, it is out of the question that motorized scooters crisscross the Ecusson, which is reserved for pedestrians. Those on bicycles, of course, are not affected by this stalking. “As, because of the curfew, in the Escutcheon, from 18 hours, there is no one left, the residents, in particular of the rue de Verdun or de Boussairolles, hear only the noise not possible of tens of scooters, which run at 20 or 60 km / h “, explains the elected.
“This is a response completely disconnected from reality”
These verbalizations shocked some Internet users, who pointed out the penalization of precarious workers. The Independent Workers’ Party has also expressed its anger. “We can only be scandalized by the way in which the town hall treats workers in the greatest precariousness, underpaid. Fighting for the quality of life of the inhabitants of the city center is certainly commendable, but how can we understand that we proudly take 60 euros to those who have nothing else to live on? (…) Without denigrating the bicycle: who can blame young delivery men for protecting themselves from the cold during this period, by delivering on a motorized vehicle? (…) We ask that these operations cease. If you want to tackle platforms, you tackle them directly, they are the ones making the profits. »
Ludovic Rioux, bicycle delivery man in Lyon and representative of the national collective of CGT delivery unions, is also outraged by these PV rains. “It’s scandalous,” he says. The workers of the delivery platforms are workers to whom the status of auto-entrepreneur is imposed, so the fine is for their apple. They are precarious workers, who are obliged to work by scooter, to make a sufficient turnover. It is a response completely disconnected from reality. “
“Would it be shocking to ticket a truck driver who burns a fire?” “
Sébastien Cote does not understand” at all “this indignation. “I have no problem with the delivery people,” notes the elected official. I have a problem with the scooters in the pedestrian area. I recall that originally, all the delivery men were on bicycles. I am very angry with the platforms, which let it happen, in defiance of the Highway Code, the tranquility of local residents, and polluting emissions. But we also need to empower delivery people. Many are on bicycles. Does it shock someone to see a truck driver, who runs a red light in town, fined? Did someone just ask me if this is normal? We enforce the rule of the pedestrian area. “The elected official invites the platforms to discuss with the city” of the regulation of scooters in the city center. I don’t want a badge where everyone goes because there is too much noise. “
Solicited by 18 Minutes , a spokesperson for Uber Eats agrees that the Platform activity can “in rare cases locally generate frustrations. We are implementing concrete actions for a harmonious sharing of public roads and reminding delivery people of the rules they must respect in terms of parking and respect for residents. »At Uber Eats, when an embarrassment due to the presence of delivery people parked between two races is noted, an awareness message is sent to delivery men, indicates the platform, reminding them of the need to respect public tranquility during order recovery. The company also indicates that it regularly reminds couriers to behave respectfully for road users and the neighborhood.
Soon a sheltered place for delivery men (by bike)
Uber Eats also indicates that it has put in place a specific system to identify meeting places that may cause concern, to ensure that deliverers who are at this place cannot receive races, in order to avoid nuisance. This is particularly the case on the Place de la Comédie. “This is something that we got from them, and from Deliveroo,” explains the Montpellier elected official to security.
Ludovic Rioux, for his part, welcomes the initiatives 1345727787353710594 of certain municipalities, who wish to create premises, so that couriers can take shelter, take a shower or repair their equipment. “We are in favor, but in the short term,” notes the CGT representative. It is all the same for employers to take their responsibilities, and not for communities to finance this with public money. “In Montpellier, the town hall is not studying the possibility of creating a local, but a” spot “, sheltered, in a place that has not yet been defined in the Ecusson,” where bicycle delivery men can come quietly. ‘install to wait for their orders’, notes Sébastien Cote.