Other European cities too Florence bans rental e-scooters from next year
Florence will ban rental e-scooters on streets and sidewalks from April 2026. The reasons are violations of the helmet requirement and problems with incorrectly parked scooters.
23.11.2025, 05:24
23.11.2025, 19:29
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- Florence bans rental e-scooters completely on roads and sidewalks from April 1, 2026.
- The reason is the unenforceable helmet requirement and many complaints.
- The city will rely more heavily on rental bikes in future and is looking into new e-scooter solutions.
The Italian city of Florence is banning rental e-scooters from its streets and sidewalks next year. The ban will take effect from April 1, 2026, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
The city council of the city of 360,000 inhabitants in Tuscany will no longer renew contracts with existing e-scooter providers, Ansa reported.
Florence is one of the most visited cities in Italy, and the new ban is also likely to affect many travelers. E-scooters can be rented using a smartphone app. The rental companies' e-scooters are particularly popular with tourists as a quick and flexible way to explore the city on the River Arno. Florence is particularly famous for its impressive cathedral and the world-famous Uffizi Gallery, an art museum.
Helmets compulsory since the end of 2024
The move was justified by the fact that the enforcement of the helmet requirement for e-scooters, which has been in force in Italy since the end of 2024, cannot be guaranteed. The city also said that the vehicles were causing problems in the city. "They are often parked incorrectly, driven in the wrong direction or parked on sidewalks," said traffic assessor Andrea Giorgio.
E-scooters have been part of the urban landscape in many Italian cities for several years, especially in the capital Rome and in Milan in the north. They often cause annoyance among locals and are a thorn in the side for some.
Other European cities have already taken the lead
As an alternative, the city council of Florence now wants to rely more on rental bikes and increase their number. At the same time, however, it is not ruled out that the city will examine new and better controlled forms of e-scooter rental in the future, "based on a clear legal framework and technological solutions that effectively enforce the helmet requirement", it said.
E-scooters are also being regulated or banned altogether in other European cities. Madrid and Paris, for example, have already banned rental scooters from urban areas. Gelsenkirchen was the first German city to do so.
