Leva

Barcelona to temporarily ban e-scooters on public transport

417 days ago

2 minutes

As of 1 February, e-scooters will no longer be allowed on public transport in Barcelona. The Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMB) announced the ban, which will last for 6 months, on 10 January 2023. The ban is being imposed for safety reasons. During that half year, a proposal will be drawn up to regulate the transport of e-scooters and other light electric vehicles.

This work will be developed in partnership with several parties, responsible for the safety of the transport system, such as operators, firefighters, vehicle safety institutes, etc. In the meantime, e-scooters will not be allowed on buses, the metro, trains, nor in stations, even if folded. Anybody who violates the ban may be fined 200 euros.

In this period, the provision of parking spaces for scooters will be promoted at railway stations and bus interchanges. The AMB has also announced the adaptation of the free bike lockers, Bicibox, for electric scooters.

The temporary ban comes after the explosion of an e-scooter on a suburban train in November 2022. The incident happened in a moving train. The driver was forced to stop the train due to the fire that broke out inside the carriage.

Five passengers had burns and inhaled toxic smoke, four of which had to be taken to hospital.The authorities blamed the highly toxic smoke on the battery.

On 12 January 2023, just two days after the bans was decided, another e-scooter exploded inside an apartment in Barcelona, injuring fourteen people, six of which were taken to hospital.

The temporary ban affects a considerable group of people, who for their daily commute use a combination of e-scooter and public transport.  In 2021, a Spanish newspaper reported more than 40,000 trips per day in Barcelona. They are paying a hefty price for the two incidents.

Photo by Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

Annick Roetynck

Annick is the Manager of LEVA-EU, with decades of experience in two-wheeled and light electric mobility.

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