Prague will ban electric scooters next year, becoming the latest European city to crack down on this tourist-friendly mode of transport.
City council members recently passed a new law revising public transportation regulations and defining parking locations for both pedal and electric bicycles in the Czech capital. Electric scooters have been excluded from the regulations, effectively banning their use from January.
“The end of the electric scooter era is approved!” declared Zdeněk Hřib, chairman of the National Pirate Party and deputy mayor responsible for urban transport, on the social network X.
“We are introducing clear regulations that will rid public spaces of the uncontrolled movement of scooters, which were often used in the city center more as a tourist attraction than a means of transportation, causing chaos on sidewalks and in pedestrian areas,” added Grzyb.
The citywide initiative follows local efforts to limit the number of electric scooters roaming Prague. They were already banned in the busy city center, where residents raised safety concerns.
Other European cities have also tightened regulations on the use of electric scooters, with Paris and Madrid banning them entirely. Lime, a company that has been offering electric scooters and e-bikes in Prague for years, has denied claims that e-scooters bring negative feedback to local residents.
Václav Petr, who heads Lime’s operations in the Czech Republic and Hungary, told Euronews Next that the company was “disappointed” by the councilors’ decision. He stated that Lime’s electric scooters “have provided thousands of people in Prague with a flexible, sustainable, and affordable way to get around the city” and that the ban was a “radical step.”
“We will now focus on expanding e-bike sharing in Prague and working closely with the city to implement clear, future-oriented regulations for shared micromobility,” the expert said.
