Madrid Bans Electric Scooters As They Become A 'Public Nuisance' With No Rules, Speed Limits
Madrid authorities have given a 72-hours time frame to all the e-scooter companies for the execution of this. Post the three day warning period the council would remove any scooters belonging to any company by itself. Follows a global protest against the use of electric scooters on the streets deeming them as a &lsquopublic nuisance.
After Los Angeles and other US cities, Madrid has now put a complete ban on electric scooters from operating within the city premises. Madrid authorities have given a 72-hours time frame to all the e-scooter companies for the execution of this. Post the three day warning period, the council would remove any scooters belonging to any company by itself.
The move follows a global protest against the use of electric scooters on the streets, deeming them as a ¡®public nuisance¡¯ with no set guidelines to follow. The order was also triggered by a recent mishap wherein a 90-year-old pedestrian was fatally injured in a collision with an electric scooter within a pedestrian reserved zone in Madrid.
That was not the sole incident of its kind though. As per reports, electric scooters have been involved in 22 accidents since this summer, including 8 incidents where pedestrians were hit.
Reuters
Three main e-scooter companies operate on Madrid¡¯s streets - Lime, Wind and VOI. As per the rules in place, electric scooters are restricted to operate only in bicycle lanes and single-lane streets with a speed limit of 30 kmph. The council claims that the apps by the companies do not abide by the set rules.
¡°They were given a deadline and told that to continue they had to fulfil a series of conditions, including avoiding agglomerations and that the start and end of rides must take place in permitted areas,¡± In¨¦s Saban¨¦s said, Madrid city environment and mobility coordinator.
The three companies have been operating in Madrid since any of the rules were put in place. Since then, the council had directed the companies to monitor the use of these electric scooters and restrict it to only appropriate areas.
People ride Lime-S electric scooters in Madrid (Reuters)
The ban might be temporary though, considering the council is also evaluating licensing applications from other such companies. Sabanes said that Lime, Wind and VOI are welcome to apply again but only after they make the necessary adjustments to their apps. Meanwhile, the council is poised to come up with more such regulations, one of which might be to restrict the top speed to 25 kmph.
Recently, a Cambridge based firm has announced its upcoming e-scooter that would eliminate several of these drawbacks associated with e-scooters, through self diagnosis and repair. Read all about it here.
