Charging the battery on the go, as people do on an e-bike, is not possible according to the fanatical mobility scooter users. “With half an hour of charging you can go another four or five kilometers. If there are ten of us then we will be a few hours further.” The members are totally dissatisfied with the organization’s decision. “It just feels like discrimination, we are being excluded,” says Rinus Rijken. “Many of us are single and participating with each other for a whole week is really an outing. There is already so much we can’t do, and now this is no longer.”
But the organization of the Fiets4Daagse sees it differently. “We don’t exclude anyone, not even the mobility scooter users. There is a stop every 6 to 7 kilometers. But we had to make choices. We noticed that the 30-kilometer route was less popular, mainly because more people are riding e-bikes, they want longer routes. That’s why we are now focusing on 40, 60 and 80 kilometers. The focus is also slightly more on other target groups, a lot of focus on families. We have simplified the range a bit, there was too much choice. And it was also too heavy a burden in terms of volunteers, who have to set out all routes.”
Yet the members of the Asser Scootmobielclub do not see the problem. “Last year, the route of the 30 kilometers was largely the same as that of the 40 kilometers. Only at the end we turned a little earlier. Is that so difficult?” Hazeveld wonders. “And we don’t see anyone being a nuisance at all,” adds Rijken. “We don’t need any help and in the event of a breakdown we have our own company that we can call. So the volunteers are not bothered by us at all.”
In any case, the thirteen members of the club are not giving up. For example, they are still trying to get in touch with the municipality of Assen to present the problem. And they might have a little hope that the 30 kilometer route will come back. “We have been in contact with the Drenthe Accessible Advisory Council. We are in talks, nothing is clear yet, but it is on the agenda for the next board meeting,” said the organization of the Fiets4Daagse. Undoubtedly to be continued.