Madrid says goodbye to electric scooters for rent. One of the new urban elements that have generated more discord in recent years are the scooters and the City Council has announced today that the 6,000 permits granted to three companies (Dott, Lime and Tier Mobility) will be revoked. The scooters will disappear from Madrid’s urban landscape in October.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of Madrid, has explained in a press conference that the reason that justifies the banning of electric scooters lies in the misuse of them. The mayor has also argued that it is a danger for the elderly.
Why are electric scooters banned
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Some of these misuses are bad parking (absence of technology that prevents them from circulating or parking in areas not enabled for it), lack of insurance coverage, not providing service to the entire city or the fact that some users made a bad use of the scooter by riding two by two on them.
It was last year when the new licenses were presented (2,000 for each of the three companies) that imposed certain obligations in terms of parking – such as in the downtown area only parking in areas designated for it. The City Council is of the opinion that the companies have not fulfilled their obligations.
The City Council also considers that the arrival of Bicimad to the 21 districts of the city is more than enough to ensure or guarantee this type of rental trips.