On Tuesday, October 1, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of Madrid, stated that the City Council has rejected the extension of the contract that allowed five companies -Lime, Idbrik Spain, Boltest, Ride Dott and Bird- to regulate the rental of private electric bikes in the capital. As a result, these types of vehicles will disappear from the streets, leaving the public service BiciMAD as the only alternative similar to the recently banned electric bikes without a fixed base.
The agreement with the affected companies ended on Monday, September 30, putting an end to two years of work that have resulted in the incorporation of electric bicycles to the 21 districts of the city.
The City Council’s reasons
In 2022, there were only 2,900 copies of BiciMAD available to the people of Madrid. This figure almost triples in 2024, which is about to end with more than 7,500 units. The growth of BiciMAD has prompted the consistory to withdraw the private bikes without a fixed base, but it has not been the only thing that has influenced.
The City Council has assured that the companies involved have not respected one of the most important requirements of the contract, which is related to the distribution of bicycles in the city. The companies were obliged to distribute 1,999 bicycles inside the M-30, and another 1,197 outside the road. As this rule was not complied with, the consistory has opted to remove this type of vehicle from circulation.
The news of the elimination of private electric bicycles without a fixed base came on the same day that electric scooters for rent began to be withdrawn. In the case of the scooters, the City Council has opted to cancel the contracts ahead of time, an action that has outraged the affected transport companies.