Spain After Paris, Madrid also bans all rental scooters

Just over a year after Paris, Madrid is the second Western European capital to ban the rental of e-scooters. The measure will come into force in October, announced Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

The licenses of the three providers will be revoked because they "have not complied with the conditions we have set to ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially the elderly. Our priority is the physical integrity and safety of the people of Madrid," he emphasized. There are no plans to grant licenses to other companies.

The three providers (Lime, Dott and Tier Mobility) have so far been allowed to rent out a total of 6,000 electric scooters in Madrid. Unlike in Paris, the scooter ban in the Spanish capital was decided without prior public consultation. In an initial reaction, the provider Lime asked for an urgent meeting with Martínez-Almeida.

E-scooters have been available in Madrid since 2019 and have become a contentious issue there because - as elsewhere - they are often parked in prohibited places, block sidewalks and endanger road safety. According to the authorities, inadequate insurance cover and the lack of training that companies should offer citizens were further reasons for the ban.

The situation had not improved despite the imposition of thousands of fines ranging from 30 to 200 euros. In Spain (as elsewhere), there have already been numerous e-scooter accidents in which people have lost their lives.