Letters: E-scooters ignore rules of the road in Richmond

Dear Editor,

Re: “E-scooters raise safety concerns,” News, June 3.

The article about the Fantuan e-scooters is very accurate.

They constantly weave between cars on the road and then switch to using bike lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks at their convenience. They are too slow to be on the road and they do not obey any traffic rules — regularly running red lights — and they are too fast to be mixing with walking pedestrians.

The scooters are also not licensed/insured by ICBC, so they are an unnecessary risk to Richmond drivers and pedestrians with no way to identify the delivery riders.

Fantuan also has many cars doing deliveries in Richmond that do not follow traffic rules. I have spotted them stopping in the middle of busy roads (without pulling over) to make deliveries on multiple occasions.

Fantuan, as a company, may say that they are open to feedback, but they are the ones who supplied the e-scooters and hired contractors who are a risk to Richmond residents.

I have seen Fantuan e-scooters weaving around and between cars, as well as a Fantuan e-scooter holding up traffic and then switching to the sidewalk.

Please continue to report on and highlight this issue in Richmond.

Steve Chiang

RICHMOND