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PoliticsSpain

Madrid announces e-scooter ban over safety concerns

September 5, 2024

The mayor of Spain's capital said that Lime, Dott and Tier Mobility had failed to implement limits on circulation and control parking. Madrid had imposed new regulations on the vehicles in 2023.

https://p.dw.com/p/4kKQl
Four green e-scooters in central street of Madrid; pedestrians are seen in the background
Madrid is canceling the licenses of 3 electric scooter operatorsImage: C zaro De Luca/Lagencia/IMAGO

Madrid is set to ban e-scooters rented through mobile apps, Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said.

The mayor of Spain's capital said that the companies Lime, Dott and Tier Mobility had failed to implement limits on clients' circulation and control parking. 

 E-scooters have increasingly come under fire over safety concerns. In July, Germany's federal statistics offics said deaths and injuries involving e-scooters rose in 2023.

What else did Madrid's mayor say about e-scooters?

Martinez-Almeida said that the three firms' licenses would be canceled starting in October and that the city had no plans to grant new licenses to other operators.

"We are withdrawing authorization for companies hiring out scooters on the city's streets," Martinez-Almeida said in a post on X, formerly twitter.

 "Our priority is the... safety of the people of Madrid," he said.

He said that operators "did not comply with the conditions we imposed to guarantee the safety of pedestrians, particularly the elderly."

"The market was found to be incapable of meeting the requirements set by the mayor's office to ensure the highest level of safety for citizens," he said.

Man rides yellow e-scooter over bridge with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background
Madrid joins Paris, Melbourne and Montreal in banning e-scooter rentalsImage: Victor Joly/abaca/picture alliance

Madrid imposed new regulations in 2023

In May 2023, Madrid's city council authorized the companies Dott, Germany's Tier Mobility and US-based Lime to rent out 2,000 scooters each and ordered them to comply with new regulations.

The three operators were obliged to give the mayor's office access to data and were also required to implement technology limiting the places where customers could park and preventing them from using them in pedestrian-only areas or near historic parks.

The mayor's office said in its statement the three operators had failed to comply with the regulations and now have 20 days to appeal.

It comes a year after Paris implemented its own ban on e-scooters. The French capital approved of the ban after 89% of voters voiced support for it in a public consultation that saw only 7% turnout.

sdi/jcg (Reuters, AFP)