The Brussels government is introducing a ban on share e-scooters from 2027. The decision comes in response to a rising number of accidents, increasing disruption to other road users and the use of share e-scooters by criminals.
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Brussels to ban share e-scooters from 2027 following a rise in accidents and use by criminals
Colin Clapson
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In 2025, 666 people were injured in the Brussels-Capital Region in an accident involving an e-scooter, an increase of more than a quarter compared to 2024. Carelessly parked scooters often block the way for other road users. According to Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil, share scooters were used in 25 shootings in the capital last year.
Reason enough for the Brussels government to ban share e-scooters. The contracts of the current providers – Bolt and Dott – expire at the end of this year, and no new contracts will be awarded, the government announced on Thursday. Brussels is following the same path as Paris, Madrid and Prague, where share e-scooters have already disappeared from the cityscape.
‘Anyone who falls off a scooter is more likely to be injured than someone who falls off a bicycle, and haphazardly parked share scooters make pavements even more difficult to navigate for people with reduced mobility, parents with pushchairs or the elderly,’ says Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Flemish ecologist Groen) in an initial response to Brussels news outlet BRUZZ. ‘This decision goes beyond safety alone; it is about choosing a city with enough alternatives to get around quickly and efficiently. That is why share bikes will remain, and we are giving Villo! a long-awaited update.’
Banking on bike-sharing
Bike-sharing is to stay. JCDecaux currently already offers bikes in the capital through Villo!. That concession is being extended until September 2028, after which a new bike-sharing system must be introduced. This will again be based on fixed bike stations in all Brussels neighbourhoods, and the bikes will be electric.
Bolt considers steps
Bolt director Guillaume Burland has also spoken to BRUZZ. ‘We are very disappointed,’ he says. Bolt is currently considering its next steps. Further details will follow.
Brussels PM Boris Dilliès (Francophone liberal MR), who is said to be the driving force behind the ban, sees things differently: ‘The decision to ban share scooters from the streets of Brussels is clear and sound policy. By retaining share bikes, we are reconciling individual travel with public order.’