Madrid has become the latest European city to ban or severely limit the popular e-scooter rental business, citing safety and rule-breaking as the reason.
As in other cities with bans, such as Paris, Montreal and Melbourne, the ban doesn’t apply to personally-owned scooters, but to the fleets owned by rental companies and available by app.
The city’s mayor posted on social media that “We are withdrawing authorization for companies hiring out scooters on the city’s streets. Our priority is the… safety of the people of Madrid.” The ban, which applies to the three licensed companies Lime, Dott and Tier, will take effect in October.
The city says the three companies “did not comply with the conditions we imposed to guarantee the safety of pedestrians, particularly the elderly.” The city also says they have not stopped the scooters from being parked or driven in banned areas and that they have not provided appropriate accident insurance.
