From today, October 1, it is forbidden to use electric scooters for rent in Madrid. José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of the capital, said last September 5 through the social network X that the decision has been taken for the benefit of “the physical integrity and safety of the people of Madrid”.
The response of one of the companies
The transport company Tier & Dott, one of those affected by the unexpected revocation of the licenses to rent these personal mobility vehicles, has shown itself ready to take legal action. It has let it slip in an interview with Somos Madrid, in which the company’s president, Maxim Romain, warns: “our priority is to resolve this matter through constructive dialogue. However, if necessary, we are prepared to take legal action to protect our rights”.
During the interview, Romain assures that he learned about the ban on electric scooters for rent through the tweet posted by Almeida in September. “It was not only a surprise for the company, but also devastating news for our more than 70 employees and their families,” he says.
Tier & Dott is proposing to cut 33% of its electric scooters in the city. That is, the retirement of about 2,000 vehicles as an alternative to recall. In addition, the company is willing to conduct pilot tests lasting six months to study how they can improve their services.
However, it is not only for road safety reasons that such vehicles have been banned. As there are no areas enabled for the correct parking of these scooters, many users have parked them in inappropriate places. On the other hand, the scooter rental service does not cover all areas of the capital: there are only 10 scooters for every 10,000 residents.
This measure of the City Council will not affect private electric scooters. That is to say, whoever owns one of these vehicles can move around with it, as long as they respect public regulations. Motor and Mobility experts believe that this could lead to a boom in the number of private scooters in the capital, which would multiply the use of this type of transport, with the safety and traffic problems that this entails.