The Mayor of Madrid announced the revocation of the license of electric scooter operators
The Madrid City Council has announced that it is withdrawing permission from existing electric scooter rental companies and will no longer issue new permits. This is done in order to guarantee maximum security to citizens. Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida on Thursday, September 5, announced the revocation of licenses from electric scooter operators, who, according to him, were unable to impose restrictions on the movement of their customers or control their parking. Since May 2023, the Madrid City Council has regulated the rental market for electric scooters, allowing the operation of three rental services in the city – the Amsterdam company Dott, the German Tier Mobility and the American Lime. Each company was allowed to rent 2,000 electric scooters through the Uber app. At the same time, the services had to provide the Madrid authorities with access to their data, as well as regulate the parking of scooters and restrictions on their use in some places – for example, on pedestrian streets or near historical parks. After conducting periodic inspections, the City Council found that the three companies licensed in 2023 did not meet the conditions set out in the tender documentation, as a result of which the permits were unilaterally revoked without the right to compensation. According to the local government, the companies were unable to provide a balanced infrastructure, which forced users to park anywhere that was not intended for their parking. In addition, the authorities have questions regarding insurance coverage, which is insufficient. As a result, from October 2024, the licenses of three rental services will be canceled, and there are no plans to issue licenses to other electric scooter rental services. “The market turned out to be unable to meet the requirements set by the mayor’s office to ensure the highest level of security for citizens,” stated the mayor of the Spanish capital. A year ago, on September 1, a ban on the rental of electric scooters came into force in Paris: at a city consultative referendum, nine out of ten survey participants opposed the rental of this type of transport in the city.
