Just a day before thousands of scooters were set to be removed from the capital's streets, a Brussels court ruled that shared mobility companies Lime and Voi can continue to offer their e-scooters in the Capital Region until their licence expires.
The Brussels authorities selected Bolt and Dott as the only operators who would still be allowed to offer just 8,000 e-scooters in the Region from February. However, Voi and Lime took that decision to court, claiming that the accelerated selection procedure was not transparent, and that Brussels had not been able to make a thorough and fair analysis of the applications of the 15 operators in less than 30 days.
The court ruled granted the operators interim relief, stating that they continue to offer their e-scooters until their licences expire. For Voi, this will be on 23 August this year. Lime's license is still valid until 3 July 2025.
"We are still analysing the ruling, but we will appeal the decision," a spokesperson for Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) told The Brussels Times. "We think this is a shame. The demand for fewer operators and fewer vehicles came not only from us and the people of Brussels but also from the operators themselves."
Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
Lime, however, argued that most major European cities allow several months for such a selection, adding that the Brussels Region did not stick to its calendar and "preferred to take a hasty decision" without respecting the stages and evaluation criteria it had set.
Van den Brandt's office said that there was a very broad consultation with the sector about the modalities before the tender was launched, and that she remains committed to limiting the number of shared scooters in Brussels "to keep public spaces safe for pedestrians and people with reduced mobility."
In addition to the 8,000 e-scooters from Dott and Bolt, several thousand vehicles from Lime and Voi will also remain active. As a result of the ruling, it is unclear how many active e-scooters there will be in Brussels from today.
There will be no changes to the other regulations taking effect from February: all e-scooters must still be parked in the 'drop off' zones, and officials from the Region or municipalities can carry out checks. The providers of the 7,500 shared bicycles in the Brussels-Capital Region also remain unchanged: Voi, Bolt and Dott.
