Shared e-scooters will henceforth be welcome in Brussels only if they do not impede other traffic users. The Brussels government has, therefore, approved the decision that tightens the rules for users and operators of e-scooters and other shared vehicles in the micro-mobility category.

The decision will come into force this summer, but the changeover to the new system for operators, with up to 8 000 instead of the current 20 000 shared e-scooters, will be valid from 2024.

Only two operators remain

So in concrete terms, there will be fewer shared e-scooters, fewer operators, mandatory drop zones, and fines for wrong parking in the Brussels Region.

In this context, before the start of the new school year, Brussels Mobility is going to launch a call for applications for the period 2024-2027 for the designation by 1 January 2024 of two operators who will still be able to offer shared e-scooters in Brussels – currently, there are about seven providers in Brussels.

This will take into account measures to comply with parking and road safety regulations and focus on reducing the environmental and social impact of their operations.

7 500 shared bikes

The total number of shared e-scooters will thus be limited to a maximum of 8 000, compared to 20 000 today. In addition, three operators for shared bikes (3 x 2 500 bicycles), two operators for shared scooters (2 x 300 scooters), and two operators for cargo bikes (2 x 150 cargo bikes) will also be designated.

From 1 January 2024, users can no longer stop their ride/rental outside a specific zone. These so-called drop zones have been designated on the roads and are being rolled out across Brussels.

The speed limit for shared e-scooters to 20 km/hour throughout the Region and to 8 km/hour in the pedestrian zones of the city center and Elsene Road will also be gradually extended to all pedestrian zones and green spaces in the capital by January 2024.

End of a free era

Like other major European cities, free-floating shared e-scooters popped up in the Brussels Region in 2018. The devices were quickly seen as a hip, climate-friendly mobility solution. But they soon became a nuisance in the absence of regulations.

Because of that nuisance and the danger to other vulnerable road users from leaving the devices lying around, cities have recently started tightening the rules for users and operators of e-scooters.

Shared e-scooters, for example, will no longer be available on 1 September 2023 in Paris when the operators’ contract with the city expires. The 15 000 e-scooters of the three operators will be left without roads.