Brussels to take tough action against e-scooters left abandoned outside official parking spaces

The legislative assembly of the Brussels region parliament is planning tougher actions on shared e-scooters and bicycles through the introduction of special parking areas, speed limits and fines if the vehicles are dumped in the street.

Arnaud Verstraete, leader of the Greens in the Brussels-Capital Region’s parliament, has presented a plan for stricter rules with the support of the ruling parties in the parliament, with a vote expected earlier next year.

“This clearer legislation will help us to make the public space safer for all users,” said Verstraete, according to the Brussels Times. If passed, local authorities within the central Brussels region would be able to set up mandatory parking spaces.

The proposed law proposes the possibility that bikes or scooters left abandoned outside the official parking spaces can be confiscated by communes. In these cases, the operator is liable to pay a fine for the vehicle’s release which it can then be transferred to the last user who was responsible for the poor parking.

New research by Berg Insight found that by 2024, 4.6 million shared e-scooters will be in operation worldwide, up from 774,000 in 2019. However, the ecological and time advantages, have been littered with a number of accidents and disturbances.

The new plans also establish a speed limit: “Operators can use technical interventions to ensure that scooters in pedestrian zones cannot exceed walking speed,” said Verstraete. If a rider wants to go faster than 6 kilometers per hour, they have to drive the scooter outside of a pedestrian zone.

E-scooters led to a spike in accident rates when first introduced in the Belgian capital.

The legislation proposition was co-signed by Ingrid Parmentier (Ecolo), Julien Uyttendaele (PS), Marc Loewenstein (DéFI), and Carla Dejonghe (Open Vld).