Electric scooters, Europe brakes: slim on guidelines, velocity and sharing | EUROtoday

Austria: Vienna dictates the principles, however the fines aren’t sufficient

Vienna has skilled an actual explosion of electrical scooters in recent times, accompanied by a heated political and social debate. The metropolis, after having tolerated an uncontrolled diffusion of the service for a interval, intervened in 2023 with a extra extreme regulation. Today the only -mandy sighings can not be left on the sidewalks: they should be parked in about 400 designated areas or in particular automobiles areas, if reported. The variety of operators was drastically diminished by 9 to 2, and the automobile park halved, going from 9milla to about 4 thousand models.

Despite the brand new guidelines, the issues of city coexistence haven’t disappeared. In lower than two years, over 50 thousand fines for irregular parking areas have been recorded. The commonest violations additionally concern the information on the sidewalks and the surplus of velocity, with documented instances of personal scooters that attain the 48 km/h, nicely past 25 km/h allowed. To worsen the image there may be the more and more widespread presence {of electrical} bikes used for deliveries, typically confused with scooters and chargeable for hazardously crowding the cycle paths. The metropolis authorities want to ban them from the cycle paths, however to do that, a legislative intervention of the federal authorities is required which, in the meanwhile, has not but set a timing.

Spain: from the deregulation to the municipal screw lap

In Spain, the unfold of electrical scooters adopted a trajectory similar to the Italian one, with an preliminary growth not accompanied by clear guidelines, adopted by a part of shut laws. The authorized framework was outlined ranging from 2021 with the entry into pressure of the Real Decree 970/2020, which acknowledged private mobility automobiles (VMP) as an autonomous class within the Highway Code. It just isn’t required neither a license nor insurance coverage, however it’s forbidden to exceed 25 km/h, round on the sidewalks or with passengers, and entry to suburban roads is prohibited.

However, the nationwide laws has left a big margin of intervention to the municipalities. In Madrid, for instance, after a part of whole liberalization, we moved in 2023 to a restricted quantity system with solely three approved operators, then sanctioned in 2024 for non -compliance with the principles. At the top of the 12 months, the Municipality revoked the licenses, suspending the circulation of about 6,000 automobiles. In Malaga, the service was nearly zeroed, with a single firm, Lime, which remained operational. On the opposite, Valencia is taken into account a virtuous adjustment mannequin, with obligatory parking, exclusion areas and a management system based mostly on geolocation.

The most recurring issues are the accidents, the wild cease and the shortage of respect for the essential guidelines of the circulation. The authorities has additionally launched new approval obligations for the only -seater offered from 2024 onwards. Public transport has additionally moved: in several cities, together with Madrid and Seville, the monopops have been prohibited aboard public transport for the danger of fireplace from faulty batteries.