A Brussels court has confirmed that e-scooter company VOI must withdraw its services from the city’s streets as decided last year by the regional government, Brussels Mobility announced in a press release on Friday.
The Brussels-Capital Region government had decided in the summer of 2023 to implement a new regulation to better manage bicycle- and scooter-sharing services in the city. The primary aim was to reduce the proliferation of e-scooters and limit the number of operators.
In December, Brussels Mobility selected Bolt and Dott as the sole operators for e-scooters. VOI and Lime challenged this decision in court and were allowed to continue their operations until their permits expired.
This was expected to happen in August, but VOI requested a temporary injunction to recognise the automatic renewal of their permit, which was ultimately denied. The court confirmed that the call for applications was the only way to obtain a new permit, and stated that VOI no longer had a valid licence to operate e-scooters.
The Brussels-Capital Region will “very soon” enforce the court’s ruling and formally order VOI to remove its e-scooters from public spaces.
According to Brussels Mobility, removing VOI’s scooters will decrease the number of e-scooters by approximately 3,000, alleviating overcrowded drop zones and reducing inconvenience.
Outgoing Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) viewed this outcome as a positive development toward efficient shared mobility, respecting all public space users.
She emphasised that operators are welcome as long as they comply with established regulations.
