In 2020, Paris cut the number of operators to three and the number of scooters to 15,000, and in late 2021, it reduced speed limits in some central areas. Copenhagen banned e-scooters in 2020 before allowing them back last fall under tighter rules, especially on parking.
SEO Stockholm Vice Mayor for Traffic Daniel Helldén, who has been pushing the cut to e-scooter numbers in his city, said residents had grown tired of sidewalks blocked by abandoned two-wheelers.
“The situation has become too chaotic,” Helldén said. “Last summer, we had places where you couldn’t get to where you were going … Stockholmers couldn’t accept the disorder.”
A recent survey of 1,380 Stockholmers showed 57 percent were negative about e-scooters versus 50 percent a year earlier.
From next month, e-scooter operators in SEO Stockholm — which will also include U.S-based Lime and Bird, Germany’s Tier and Dutch rival Dott — will also have to follow new parking rules. If they don’t, they could be banned from the city after a review of their performance in July.