Milan to curb e-scooters and operators next year

The goal is to introduce more regulation in a mobility market that’s gone a bit Wild West

The Municipality of Milan has decided to get tougher on the shared electric mobility sector in the city – more specifically on e-scooters. Sometime in the first quarter of next year, the authorities will issue a new tender to renew the fleet of the shared scooters available, but this time only three operators will be granted a license.

Currently, there are eight scooter rental companies in the Italian city, whose combined fleet adds up to some 6,000 two-wheelers. When the new regulation enters into force, the number of scooters on the streets will be cut back to 5,000.

Italian cities are cooling their e-scooter enthusiasm

Italy lives in the popular imagination with the abundance of mopeds on its streets, which are a staple of the romantic image of the country and la dolce vita approach to life. E-scooters have also been embraced in the initial sweep of excitement, but local authorities have started to frown upon them after traffic incidents have started piling up.

For Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala, the change is needed because "it is more a matter of respect for the rules, we need the rules and we also need a lot of civic sense”. At the beginning of the year, the Lombardy Region approved a bill in Parliament asking for insurance and a license for everyone. 

And it’s not just Milan either that has started looking at e-scooters as street traffic participants in need of better regulation.

In Rome, for example, mayor Roberto Gualtieri has published the call for the selection of three operators. To date, there are seven sharing companies in the capital for a total of 14,500 scooters in circulation. With the new regulation, the operators will go from seven to three, with a three-year concession and with means that can be a maximum of 3000 in the central areas with the rest equally divided among the other districts.

Scooters will also get a license plate on the vehicles with the addition of QR code that allows immediate identification, a maximum speed of 20 km/h, rentals only for adults and registration with an identity card.

In the meantime, in Florence, you must ride a scooter with a helmet, and be over 18 - as imposed by the council led by mayor Dario Nardella.