Madrid bans self-service scooters
After Paris, Madrid becomes the second major European capital to ban self-service electric scooters. Henceforth, these vehicles will become a thing of the past on Madrid’s streets. Recently, Madrid formalized its decision to completely ban their use.
The mayor, José Luis Martinez-Almeida, stated, “We are withdrawing the authorization of companies renting scooters on the city streets,” via the platform X. Since September 2023, only three operators were authorized to provide this service in the Spanish capital.
Affected operators
The affected companies, Lime, Dott, and Tier Mobility, will have to remove their fleets by October. They have 20 days to contest this decision. According to the mayor, the operators have not met pedestrian safety requirements, particularly for the elderly, and have not implemented adequate parking zones.
Other cities follow suit
This situation in Madrid echoes that of Paris, where about 15,000 scooters were removed in September 2023 following a citizen vote. Montreal, Las Vegas, and New Orleans have also taken the same measure. Although some European cities have not banned these vehicles, they have chosen to regulate their use by limiting the number of operators or by more strictly controlling their usage. In Lyon, for instance, self-service electric scooters have been banned for minors since 2022.
