Banning e-scooter rentals in major cities around the world: Melbourne, Paris, and Kazakhstan

Melbourne has decided to ban the rental of electric scooters, citing safety concerns following hundreds of complaints and accident reports as the reason for the move, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing CNN.

The Melbourne city council decided to end contracts with the two e-scooter operators, Lime and Neuron, and has given them 30 days to remove their vehicles.

“This was an opportunity to end the havoc on Melbourne’s footpaths and make our city safe again,” says Melbourne Mayor Nicolas Reece in a press conference on Wednesday, August 14.

In December 2023, the Royal Melbourne Hospital released a report that found 256 cases of injuries related to the use of e-scooters, including one death.

It's not just Melbourne that is rethinking its approach to electric scooter rentals.

Paris, once one of the biggest e-scooter-riding cities in Europe, voted to ban rented electronic scooters in 2023. Copenhagen introduced a ban in 2020, but repealed it a year later, introducing strict rules. Barcelona has partially banned their use in historic parts of the city since 2016.

In London, privately owned electric scooters remain illegal on public roads, but have been trialing rentals with three operators since 2021. In Rome, authorities tightened the rules on the use of electric scooters in 2022 after a series of incidents involving damage to cultural heritage.

In Kazakhstan, the issue of renting electric scooters is also being actively discussed. A petition was recently created calling for a ban on their rental. The initiators of the petition point to problems related to safety, chaotic parking and violation of traffic rules, which makes the use of electric scooters in public places potentially dangerous.

Today, the most acute problems with riding electric scooters are in Astana, Almaty and Karaganda.

Thus, in Almaty since the beginning of the year, 463 accidents involving e-scooters and mopeds have occurred, as a result of which 500 people were injured, seven died. In 68 cases, children were driving transport.