Madrid has renewed the operating licenses for shared scooter services in the city. The City Council has chosen three operators for the next three years: Dott, Lime y Animal.
This trio of companies will sound familiar to you, as these companies have also won competitions in several European cities in recent years. Madrid even says that it was inspired by 17 European cities, and in Paris and London in particular. Dott, Lime and Tier also operate in Paris, but the mayor has decided that Parisians will vote on whether they want to ban shared scooters.
The story is different in Madrid, as Dott, Lime and Tier now have some clarity until 2026. The operators will be able to deploy 6.000 scooters in total, 2.000 for each company.
There may be some adjustments later. If there is more demand than expected, the city of Madrid may decide to increase the limit so that companies can deploy more vehicles – there will be an evaluation every four months. Similarly, the city can grant license extensions after they expire in 2026.
If you live in Madrid or have recently traveled to the city, you may have already seen scooters scattered around the city. The city of Madrid already authorized free circulation scooters back in 2019.
And there has been everything. Although the city has decided to renew the licenses for another three years, it is adding some requirements. In 2019, Madrid originally decided to create a hard cap of 10.000 for the total number of scooters in the city. But there was no limit to the number of operators.
In total, 18 companies obtained an exploitation license from the City Council, which caused unnecessary fragmentation. Many scooter companies have already withdrawn from Madrid. Starting in May, there will only be three scooter companies.
Drivers will not be able to park their scooters wherever they want. The city will allocate some specific parking spaces for scooters in the city center. Thanks to the on-board GPS module, users will not be able to finish their journey if they have not parked their scooter properly. Scooter companies may also require a photo at the end of the ride.
Outside the city center, drivers must park their scooter in a parking space for mopeds, bicycles or scooters. If you are more than 50 meters from a reserved space, you can lock your scooter and end the trip.
According to the council, there have already been some improvements when it comes to parking tickets. But things should improve in May. The three operators have promised that they will remove a wrongly parked scooter within an hour.
