If you’re exploring a new city, copping an e-scooter can be a pretty fun way to get from A to B, but we all know the feeling of stepping onto a crossing and almost being knocked sideways by one zooming past at a crazy high speed.
And apparently, Madrid has had enough. The city’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, announced on Thursday September 5 that the three licensed operators would not be allowed to renew their contracts in October.
Each operator, Amsterdam-based Dott, Germany’s Tier Mobility and US-based Lime, was previously licensed to rent 2,000 scooters each across Madrid which could be booked on Uber, after city authorities began regulating the e-scooter market in May last year.
After dangerous driving and haphazard parking by users, the operators were asked to allow the mayor’s office access to their data. Each was also supposed to implement tech that would restrict where users could park the scooters to designated areas and meant they could not be ridden through pedestrian-only streets or historic parks.
However, it appears none of them complied. Now, not only are there no plans to renew each contract, but there are no such agreements in the works with any other companies either. In a statement, the mayor said: ‘The market was found to be incapable of meeting the requirements set by the mayor’s office to ensure the highest level of safety for citizens.’
This comes almost exactly a year after Paris opted to completely ban e-scooters, which was a result of a year of public review – you can read more about that here.
So now, we’ll be waving goodbye to e-scooters in Madrid too. Thank the lord it’s such a walkable city, eh?
Did you see that Italy is planning a new €25-a-night tourist tax?
Plus: France is selling super-cheap train tickets this month – here’s how to get one.
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