During riots, shared mobility companies end up footing the bill for damage to their shared bikes, e-scooters, and cars, even though you’d expect insurance companies to cover it.<\/p>\n
For some shared mobility companies, damage sustained, such as during the recent riots in Brussels, can amount to 40,000 to 60,000 euros.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, users end up footing the bill because insurers don’t want to provide comprehensive coverage for these companies, so they pass the costs on to those who use shared mobility services over time.<\/p>\n
Eight destroyed cars \u2013 two of which were set on fire \u2013 and about 60 vandalized shared bikes and e-scooters. The toll from the riots during recent protests over government policy could be devastating for shared mobility companies such as Poppy, Dott, or VOI, with damages potentially reaching tens of thousands of euros. Plus: the destruction came just four months after similar riots in June had already cost the same operators tens of thousands of euros.<\/p>\n
It’s the bitter conclusion of a strike day. VOI, for example, loses as many bikes in a single day as it does in a whole year of regular claims, which would otherwise be expected to generate record revenues.<\/p>\n
On strike days, when public transportation is also limited, people are more likely to turn to alternative modes of transportation, such as shared e-scooters and bikes.<\/p>\n
But the Brussels public transportation company STIB\/MIVB was not spared either: it recorded damage to three trams, four buses, bus stops, and a lift. And more alarmingly, a Voi employee was attacked near Lemonnier while working and suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n
Contrary to what you might expect, shared mobility companies bear most of the damage themselves. In Li\u00e8ge, where riots also took place, a business owner’s fire insurance covers losses from riots, violent protests, broken glass, or fire, provided a connection to the protest is proven; for cars, only comprehensive insurance covers the damage.<\/p>\n
But both Dott and VOI say their insurance doesn’t cover this, or that no insurer will cover their liability, meaning they must bear the full cost of any damage.<\/p>\n
In Li\u00e8ge, Ethias, the insurer for many public transportation agencies in the “fiery city,” covers only the rolling stock (the buses), not the tram or the bus shelters.<\/p>\n
Moreover, it is not always easy to recover damages from the rioters. In Brussels, for example, 21 rioters were arrested on Friday, and it is not always easy to prove that they set a bicycle or e-scooter on fire, for instance.<\/p>\n
Often, the rioters are minors, which makes it more difficult to recover damages. However, parents of children under 16 are strictly liable for damage caused by their children’s wrong acts, provided they hold the relevant parental authority.<\/p>\n
More surprisingly, family liability insurance can sometimes cover damage caused deliberately by minors. Federale Verzekering, for instance, specifies that while intentional acts by insured persons aged 16 or older are excluded, their parents’ civil liability can remain covered, subject to conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, the companies involved, which had already removed vehicles as a precautionary measure, will file civil claims in each case and hope to recover damages, even though they admit it will be very difficult.<\/p>\n As a result, shared mobility companies, already struggling with the economics of keeping vehicles permanently accessible on public streets, have no choice but to pass those costs on to customers who use shared mobility services, because the Brussels government has decided to phase out shared e-scooters from January 2027. \u201cWe won\u2019t be raising our prices tomorrow, but the costs will be charged each time,\u201d says Yessin Aattache, country manager of bike-sharing company VOI, to vrt.nws.<\/p>\n But it is highly doubtful that this will prompt the rioters to find another way to vent their anger. In any case, every shared car, e-bike, or e-scooter taken off the road reduces transportation capacity for users and resources that cannot be allocated to fleet renewal, service improvements, or fare reductions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During riots, shared mobility companies end up footing the bill for damage to their shared bikes, e-scooters, and cars, even though you’d expect insurance companies to cover it. For some shared mobility companies, damage sustained, such as during the recent riots in Brussels, can amount to 40,000 to 60,000 euros. Ultimately, users end up footing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":195940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[77170,52082,7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-195920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belgium","category-ebikes","category-mobility","category-top-stories-today"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=2368%2C1572&ssl=1",2368,1572,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1",640,425,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=640%2C425&ssl=1",640,425,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=1536%2C1020&ssl=1",1536,1020,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=2048%2C1360&ssl=1",2048,1360,true],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=18%2C12&ssl=1",18,12,true],"related-thumb":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1",640,480,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1",400,400,true],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"mailchimp":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?fit=560%2C372&ssl=1",560,372,true],"unipress-phone":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=640%2C100&ssl=1",640,100,true],"unipress-tablet":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=1536%2C240&ssl=1",1536,240,true],"unipress-tablet-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=1536%2C180&ssl=1",1536,180,true],"unipress-tablet-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=2048%2C180&ssl=1",2048,180,true],"unipress-smartphone":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=1080%2C168&ssl=1",1080,168,true],"unipress-wide-screen":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newmobility.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled99-1.png?resize=2368%2C180&ssl=1",2368,180,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":" During riots, shared mobility companies end up footing the bill for damage to their shared bikes, e-scooters, and cars, even though you’d expect insurance companies to cover it. For some shared mobility companies, damage sustained, such as during the recent riots in Brussels, can amount to 40,000 to 60,000 euros. Ultimately, users end up footing the bill because insurers don’t want to provide comprehensive coverage for these companies, so they pass the costs on to those who use shared mobility services over time. Significant gains but also substantial losses Eight destroyed cars \u2013 two of which were set on fire…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Belgium<\/a>, eBikes<\/a>, Mobility<\/a>, Top Stories Today<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Luc Joris","url":"https:\/\/newmobility.news\/en\/author\/belga-5\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"\nCustomer pays<\/h4>\n