Electric Scooters Face Clampdown In Sweden After Records Of Accidents, Problem Parking

Electric Scooters face clampdown in Sweden after records of accidents, problem parking. 

Councilors in Stockholm voted to almost halve the number of rental e-scooters permitted in the Swedish capital.

The move will also cut the number of licensed scooter rental firms from eight to three.

To enhance traffic sanity, Swedish authorities is cracking down on users of electric scooters after a report of record accidents as well as problems associated with parking.

Councilors in Stockholm has voted to almost halve the number of rental e-scooters permitted in the Swedish capital and to cut the number of licensed scooter rental firms from eight to three.

“We have put our foot down and cleaned up the e-scooter jungle,” Stockholm’s vice-mayor for transport Daniel Helldén said on Twitter.

On-street parking for e-scooters has become a controversial topic in Sweden after a fatal accident in September.

Electric scooters are facing a crackdown by Swedish authorities tired of accidents and problem parking.

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Councilors in Stockholm voted on Monday to almost halve the number of rental e-scooters permitted in the Swedish capital and to cut the number of licensed scooter rental firms from eight to three.

“We have put our foot down and cleaned up the e-scooter jungle,” Stockholm’s vice-mayor for transport Daniel Helldén said on Twitter.

On-street parking for e-scooters has become a controversial topic in Sweden after a fatal accident in September.

Stockholm’s new restrictions will see the number of scooters available in the city fall from around 23,000 to just 12,000 on January 1 next year.

The city will also charge companies a fee of around €140 per scooter, which it says is intended to encourage them to take better care of the electric vehicles (EVs).

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The three companies that continue to operate in Stockholm will also have to impose parking restrictions, make sure the scooters can reliably stand upright when parked, and offer customer service in Swedish, Helldén told the TT news agency.

Despite placing restrictions on the scooters, he said he was not opposed to them in principle.

“Electric scooters are used for 60,000 trips a day in Stockholm, so there is a need. This is not about removing them, it’s basically a smart mode of transport if users behave,” he said.

The Swedish capital is following its Nordic neighbors in restricting the use of e-scooters. Authorities in Oslo imposed a night-time usage ban on the EVs in July, while last month Copenhagen reintroduced them following a total ban in October 2020.

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