Tag Archive: Shared e-scooter

  1. Ban on shared e-scooters in Brussels

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    Source: Belga New Agency

    The Brussels government recently announced that the shared-use electric scooters will be banned from 2027. The Belgian capital’s shared bike service will continue to operate there.

    The ban, which will come into force after the contract expiration of the two current shared e-scooter providers, follows the cities of Paris, Madrid and Prague who have already banned them from the streets.

    The announcement comes after reports of rising accident numbers, misuse and increasing disruption for other road users.

    In 2025, it was reported that in the Brussels Capital region, 666 people were injured in accidents involving an e-scooter, an increase of over 25% in comparison to levels in 2024. Furthermore, Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil shared that scooters were involved in 25 shootings last year.

    There have also been frequent incidents of “carelessly parked” scooters blocking pedestrians and cyclists in the city.

    Shared bike service to remain

    Shared bikes will remain in operation with JCDecaux currently operating the Villo! bike-sharing scheme, with the concession to be extended until September 2028, when a new system will be introduced. The service will keep using fixed docking stations with e-bikes throughout Brussels.

    What may come next for e-scooter regulation

    In May, Antwerp hospital group ZAS has called for a shared scooter ban between midnight and 8 am in the morning, due to scooter accident injuries tending to be more serious at night.

    At the national level, Belgium’s Mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke wants to ensure helmets are compulsory for users of e-scooters which can exceed 20km/hr, with the regulation expected to be implemented in September.

  2. Study on shared and private e-scooter users

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    Source: Science Direct

    The Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research has recently published a longitudinal study that examined the frequency and characteristics of e-scooter ownership types over 12 months, focusing on whether riding experience improved behaviour or safety among Australian riders.

    With the increasing popularity of scooters globally, there have also come some reports of crashes and injuries, with studies indicating rider inexperience as being a key cause, however there has been a lack of longitudinal research on whether rider behaviours change, or if safety improves with experience.

    This study aims to address this gap by examining how riding frequency and trip characteristics change with experience for Australian shared and private e-scooter riders over 12 months.

    For changes of use, the following barriers and characteristics were identified:

    • Barriers – physical effort, costs, availability
    • Sociodemographic characteristics – e-scooter ownership and education

    Owners and post-school qualification holders were less likely to report a decrease in riding frequency. Notably, perceived costs were linked to increased usage.

    In terms of trip length, private e-scooter riders tended to have a shorter duration, decreased multi-modal combinations and fewer substitutions, while that of shared e-scooter users remain approximately the same on a broad scale.

    The study suggests that riding experience over one year doesn’t systematically change rider characteristics, indicating that safety benefits from experience are more likely to come from improvements in the capabilities of riders (such as handling, knowledge of rules and hazard anticipation), rather than large characteristic changes.

    Study implications

    The results indicate that different policies for maintaining or increasing e-scooter use are required. It is recommended that policymakers should provide help to those who do not own scooters that have limited experience by improving shared-fleet availability, affordability, as well as programs or restrictions to aid skill development. They should also prioritise protective infrastructure and amenities at the end of trips for owners to decrease exposure-related risk.

  3. Electric scooters remain part of Dundalk shared mobility hubs

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    Source: Ireland Live

    Following safety concerns about the improper use of e-scooters, the Irish town’s Louth County Council has confirmed plans to include them with e-bikes in the installation of 41 mobility hubs. The council highlighted that the combination of its own safeguards, and e-scooter providers’ usage measures, should alleviate concerns, and that awareness about proper e-scooter use can be increased with the hubs.

    The inclusion of e-scooters in the hubs in the pilot has been contested by local councillors due to safety concerns, but the area’s Louth County Council have ruled out excluding them.

    Addressing these concerns, Louth County Council’s Director of Major Capital Projects and Infrastructure Delivery, David Jones, said there are e-scooter safeguards, including speed limits and battery power requirements, and added that a similar project was introduced in the Irish town of Wexford in 2024.

    Furthermore, he notes that e-scooter providers have their own checks and balances for use of their e-scooters:

    “People have to do an awareness course online and the provider has a mechanism to monitor the usage by certain users and if there is abuse of it, there is a three strikes and you’re out policy.”

    Jones describes e-scooters as being a “fact of life” and that mobility hubs can be useful in increasing awareness about proper use of them.

    “A combination of the regulations that have been brought in by the government plus the safeguards from the e-scooter provider should be able to alleviate concerns of the members in relation to it.You have to recognise the benefits of them, but clearly there are concerns and that’s why the regulations have come in and why we have safeguards as part of any future mobility hub in Dundalk.”

  4. Belgian shared mobility sees record usage and increased efficiency

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    Sources: Cities Today, Belga News Agency

    Belgium saw record levels of shared mobility use in 2025, with over 33 million journeys made on shared bikes, e-scooters and in cars, according to the Shared Mobility in Belgium 2025 report, published by Way to Go, a network organisation promoting shared mobility. This is despite the numbers of available vehicles having reduced, indicating optimised efficiency.

    The report is based on data from all active operators in the country, and reveals that shared bikes and e-scooter trips made up the lion’s share of recorded journeys at over 32 million. The most notable statistic is that the number of shared e-scooter units fell by 35%, but that total trips increased by 21%, prompting Way to Go to comment that shared mobility “is becoming more mature: fewer vehicles on the road, but more people using them”.

    A key reason for the drop in e-scooter vehicle numbers is Brussels reducing the number of operating companies from nine to two, and implementing fleet caps, which resulted in a 44% drop in e-scooter numbers in the region. Average numbers of trips per scooter per day rose from 1.9 to 3.6; Way to Go observes that Brussels “combines high density with intensive use,” demonstrating that “well thought-out regulations lead to more efficient use.” The Brussels region represents 59% of the country’s shared e-scooter journeys, and 31% of all shared bike journeys.

    Across the country, shared bike use saw significant expansion, with over 28,000 shared bikes and more than 1.038 million active users recorded in 2025. The nationwide fleet is now, for the first time, mostly electric, and in Brussels the proportion of electric shared bikes is 78%.

    The Flanders region accounts for 68% of Belgium’s shared bike trips at 10.8 million journeys. The “back-to-many” system, which consists of fixed stations from which bikes can be collected from one docking point and returned at a different one, is the dominant model in the region, and records an average of 3.5 trips per bike, per day. Way to Go comments that this demonstrated that shared mobility “is becoming structurally embedded in the mobility system,” while a targeted roll-out of regional systems shows “that shared mobility also works outside major cities.”

    The Wallonia region is, in absolute terms, behind Brussels and Flanders in numbers of users, but is seeing strong growth. The number of shared bikes in the region increased by 85% and scooters by 37% compared with 2024. Active shared bike users increased substantially to over 15,000, from just 2,500 in 2024.