Madrid authorities ban electric scooter rentals due to reckless drivers and chaotic parking

Illustration of electric scooters. (Wikimedia Commons/Cam.wu)

JAKARTA - Madrid authorities, Spain will ban electric scooters chartered through mobile applications, after three licensed operators in the city fail to impose restrictions on their client's circulation or control their parking, Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said in a statement.

Martinez-Almeida said Lime, Dott and Tier Mobility licenses would be canceled from October. On the other hand, the city government has no plans to grant new licenses to other operators.

"The market was found unable to meet the requirements set by the mayor's office to ensure the highest level of security for residents," he said in a statement.

This system, referred to as a scooter-sharing system, has created opposition in various cities around the world, because users who drive recklessly on roads and sidewalks and park carelessly often make public spaces a mess.

Since May 2023, Madrid's city council has set up a rental electronic scooter market, allowing only Amsterdam-based Dott, Germany-based Tier Mobility and Lime, whose scooter is available on the Uber app.

They are authorized to rent out around 2,000 scooters each.

The three operators should provide the mayor's office with access to their data, ordered to implement technology that forces their customers to leave scooters only in permitted areas and prevent them from renting scooters on pedestrian special roads or near historic parks.

They failed to meet these requirements, the statement said, adding the three operators had 20 days to file an appeal.

Dott, Lime and Tier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is known, before Madrid, Paris in France last year banned the rental of electric scooters after conducting public consultations.