Despite the Brussels Government's aim to reduce the number of shared e-scooters in the Capital Region to 8,000 from February this year, some 12,000 scooters are still active at the end of May.
To stop the proliferation of scattered e-scooters, Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) introduced a stricter framework for shared e-scooters in February. The Minister limited their number to 8,000, divided equally between Bolt and Dott (which has since merged with Tier).
However, providers Lime and Voi went to court to challenge the reform, and won – meaning they were allowed to stay. In a parallel case in late April, the smaller operator Gliize was also vindicated before the Council of State, which ruled that the Region cannot simply roll back a given licence.
Around 12,000
The court's provisional suspension gave a green light to all licensed providers to put back their scooters in one fell swoop. Therefore, the maximum number of scooters per provider is also no longer valid.
At the end of April, the Council of State also questioned a large part of Van den Brandt's scooter reform. Since then, all operators with an ongoing licence have been allowed to offer their scooters again.
Still, their number has not increased since the Council's ruling.
"Currently, there are still around 12,000 e-scooters operating in Brussels, the same number as when the reform took effect," Van den Brandt's spokesperson Litte Frooninckx told Bruzz. "Before the reform, it was 23,000 scooters."
Dott and Bolt are still offering around 4,000 each, with both saying they do not want to go over that number in the future.
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The remaining scooters are owned by Lime and Voi. The latter reduced its number from 4,000 to 2,500 after the reform, but said that it could go up to 4,000 again in the near future. "We are obliged to spread our scooters across the Capital Region, as is stipulated in part of Van den Brandt's ordinance that was not annulled by the Council of State."
While Lime has a fleet of some 3,500 active scooters in Brussels, the company constantly adjusts that number to the availability of drop zones. Voi's licence remains valid until August this year, while Lime has a licence until July next year.
Despite Gliize's victory last month, the company has not returned with its fleet. Pony has been away from Brussels since February, but its licence expired in May. Lastly, Poppy has no plans to return either.
