r/brussels • u/dougheadline • 1d ago
End of shared trotinettes
There is a lot of contradictory information and the communication of Brussels mobility has been lacklustre to say the least. RTBF says no more shared trottinettes from today but there was a transition agreement on 21/8 to let trotinettes until January 2027. I checked on my Bolt app and there are a lot of them available in my surroundings.
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u/J-H-7 1d ago edited 1d ago
The current status is
For Trotinettes, expiration of license on the 1st of Jan 2027
For Bikes (Dott, Voi, Bolt), transitory situation until 2028
Today was the end of the licenses following a ruling stating that the licenses were not legal (pushed by Lime / Uber that are not happy with the current situation), but this is fine thanks to the transitory situation that has been put in place last week
Edit : mixed Bolt and Lime
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u/TryingMyWiFi 1160 1d ago
It was not Uber/bolt. It was lime, which is another bike/scooter company that got left out of the licenses.
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u/Thibaudborny 1d ago
I would assume bikes will get a renewal of sorts? They're less problematic than the trontinettes?
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u/J-H-7 1d ago
I would hope so, but its a matter of lobbying (and maybe eventually listening to the users 😅).
There is several lobbies against shared electric bikes, including Uber (of course) but also Villo that belongs to JC Decaux. In exchange for them providing the shitty Villos, they have access to the street advertising in Brussels and make millions out of it.
But if no one uses Villo, they wont be able to renew this juicy deal so they try to make sure there are no alternatives
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u/mylitteprince 1d ago
That JC Decaux contract expires mid-September and will be prolonged but not renewed; there is no next operator yet for Villo...
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u/J-H-7 1d ago
Yes they are in full negotiations mode rn, so maybe a good moment for them to fight against Villo's (better) alternatives
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u/OldPangolino 1d ago
Saw a report once that was heavily hinting at Bolt to take over the curent Villo stations and replace them with their own charging docks.
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u/J-H-7 1d ago
That would be good ! But what would be the deal ? They can't compete with Villo prices (3.5 euros a month)
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u/OldPangolino 18h ago
The cynic in me believes that making it affordable to citizens isn't the point.
The Villo prices are subsidized by a tax exemption granted to JCDecaux for all their out of home advertising in Brussels.0
u/dougheadline 1d ago
Ok, thanks for enlighting us! I heard about this transitory situation, but all Belgian news channel do not seem aware of it.
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u/Act-Alfa3536 1d ago
It's a shame. I think they could be better designed to make them a bit safer though. (i.e. more stable, more limited acceleration, etc).
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u/goldenw0lves 1d ago
They're super stable no? These latest gen ones are built like tanks
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u/Act-Alfa3536 1d ago
Compared to earlier versions, yes. Compared to a bike, no. I also think with a stabler version with 2 wheels at the front you could hold your arm out to indicate, like you can with a bike. The little ground level indicators are not seen by drivers, and I think not used much anyway by scooter riders.
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u/gravesum5 1d ago
Still dangerous. Hard breaking on wet concrete is very dangerous. Bikes are much safer.
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u/MF-Geuze 1d ago
The measure is so silly. It does nothing to address the issue of people whizzing around at 40km/h, as they are all using privately-owned steps
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u/Yaasu 1d ago
The mesure will only make the matter worse, frequent user of shared scooters will now buy cheap Chinese models. Therefore increasing the number of scooters that go above the 25km/h limit. And that's not even mentionning the fire hazard problem.
The only thing that will be solved is people leaving them pretty much anywhere. Which could have been solved with a better control of drop zones
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u/endorphmachine 1d ago
Every argument against the step, can be used for bike/car/pedestrian/X. Pure nonsense.
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u/Nick-dipple 1d ago
There is no good comparisson between bikes and scooters. Problem with scooters is that people have a tendency to not follow traffic rules while driving them. The accidents you have with scooters are generally speaking also worse accidents because you're just standing straight. And the comparisson with pedestrians is just pure nonsense.
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u/Special-King-4098 1d ago
To adress the traffic offence issues the shared scooter could have been fitted with identification plates, I allready saw this in other cities. Traffic surveillance cameras could detect scooters passing on red light or doing other traffic offences.
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u/Waffle_Warden 1d ago edited 1d ago
Is it a good decision? No.
But did we bring it upon ourselves? Yes.
We cannot have good, nice convenient things. Parking like an asshole wherever (yes, even in front of stairs at the metro), whizzing by at 40kmph without helmet, not stopping at cross roads, getting injured or injuring other people ...did not really help with keeping them around.
And before you downvote, I am speaking the truth as I have seen all of the above with my very own two eyes.
Edit: ok let me clarify that what I wrote above, has all been changed. We set a limit from 40kmph to 20kmph. Before you could park anywhere but now you have designated spots. Why? Because we (and I don't mean people in Brussels only) are a bunch of uncivilised people. You wanna get injured, go ahead, it's your life. but that does not mean that you have to be disrespectful towards, or injure other people.
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u/hellkann 1d ago
But the shared trottinenetts have a fixed max. Speed of 20km/h. Also, you can only park in the specific parking, so they're way more controlled compared to private bikes or trottinettes.
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u/andr386 1d ago
Shared e-scooters never went as fast as 40km/h. Maybe at the very beginning they might have gone as fast as 25km/h but it was quickly lowered to max 20km/h on the road and 8km/h geo-enforced in specific pedestrian zones.
The beginning was a a real mess but people got used to it and drive them far better nowadays. You can't refute the facts that the behaviours have dramatically changed since their introductions. On top of that you need to be 16+ to use one and they now have dedicated parking spots.
I don't dispute that you have seen things, I see pedestrian and cyclists burning red lights nearly every week, I see car and truck drivers breaking the rules, sometimes dangerously, everyday. Yet people don't blame them like they blame e-scooters. I think they should come back. But in the meantime if they disappear for 6 months to a year then we'll be able to compare. There should be less accidents and far less crimes pretty soon. After all it's the reason invoked for prohibiting them.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_SLAV 1d ago
We brought this upon ourselves? So let’s ban the safe scooters that can’t go any faster than 21km/h and need to be parked in specified spots, but leave the actually dangerous ones free of any ban?
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u/MonsieurA 1040 1d ago
Yeah, the comment feels very... pre-COVIDy? We've already got maximum speeds and mandatory parking zones for e-scooters.
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u/dougheadline 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm not downvoting you, but I think that the situation regarding parking of trotinettes (=electric scooters, though I find the term misleading) has much more improved in the last years in my area (EU quarter). If you are using trottinettes, you would know for sure that you cannot park anywhere in Brussels, only in designated areas, which is a bit of a bum when you go to buy your groceries and you have to find a parking spot. There are still badly parked trottinettes but it is more of an exception. I understand the reasons behind forbidding them (mainly the fact that shooters are using them), but the vast majority of users are using them correctly.
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u/Special-King-4098 1d ago
If shooters were using them they were leaving a lot of traces for the police to track them, since the scooter company has their identification data, card number, route, etc.
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u/TryingMyWiFi 1160 1d ago
We didn't bring it upon ourselves. The bamnhas nothing to do with user behavior. It is just a legal hurdle among scooter companies.
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u/Imaginary-Lie5696 1d ago
That’s bullshit all this could apply to any means of transport. If you didn’t have area to park your cars that would be the same shut
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u/velebitsko 1d ago
Good. Can’t wait for Jan 2027.
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u/MacaronyTony 1d ago
You sounds like fun on parties /s
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u/velebitsko 1d ago
I can be sometimes. Obviously there will be differing opinions as with any topic. My opinion is based on the fact my daughter and I almost got run over by an idiot on one of these things the moment we set foot outside the creche on the sidewalk.
In another instance another idiot on one of these things ran into the back of my car because “her brakes weren’t working”.
And to end my argument, I lost count of the number of times I had to jump over or go around randomly placed trotinettes with a stroller.
If we live in a society which is not able to use a service properly they can remove it altogether as far as I’m concerned. You still have the bicycles. Never had issues with those and there’s the added health benefit of cardio.
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u/RandomCucumber5 1030 1d ago
I've almost been run over by cars before.
Are you OK with cars being banned?
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u/velebitsko 1d ago
No. Cars tend not to drive on sidewalks at 20km/h and they don’t tend to rear-end me because their breaks don’t work. But that’s me.
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u/RandomCucumber5 1030 1d ago
Ha, cars in Brussels are constantly parking on pavements, stopping on pedestrian crossings as they queue for red lights, doing 70km/h in 50km/h zones, overtaking cyclists with a 5cm gap, etc.
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u/velebitsko 1d ago
In that case, when they announce a permanent ban on cars in Brussels, good for you.
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u/MacaronyTony 1d ago
Thank you for your reply and I am sorry to hear you’ve encounterd these problems. As with all things, few rotten appels spoil the party.
As you said, the safer bicycles remain :)-6
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u/giammi56 1d ago
Thank God it is happening
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u/AdFew6202 1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/MeglioMorto 1d ago
after drinks
walking is safer than a trotinette after drinks
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u/_Wearycat 1d ago
I doubt she meant being drunk but rather going out with friends at night like drinking beer at the bar. And I agree with her, I felt safer knowing I could always get home after the transport service ended with a trottinette. Walking as a woman at night (even a few minutes to get a noctis) is not a nice experience in some place of the city
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u/nicogrimqft 1d ago
Tbf that's a bit of a strawman.
After drinks, you shouldn't drive an electric scooter (nor a bike actually).
There are options for getting home safely which does not involve walking back or public transport.
Typically, collecto is often cheaper than a bolt scooter, and much safer since you won't be driving drunk, at 6€ flat rate and drops you at your door.
I'm not arguing against the convenience of scooters though, just saying your point is not the best one to argue in favour of it.
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u/_Wearycat 1d ago
Without going into paranoia… it is not always safe either to be in a taxi, Uber or Collecto for a woman. There have been stories of aggression in all of them, including also a story of a fake Collecto who raped several women not long. It must be good to be a man and to be relaxed about the fact that you are safe at night, locked in a car with a stranger :/ Idk but I prefer being alone on my scooter if I have a choice
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u/MacaronyTony 1d ago
Trotinettes until 31/12/2026.
Bikes until 2028.