Berlin to slash e-scooter numbers in inner city

The measure will take effect in March 2024

Last week, Berlin’s regional transport ministry announced that it plans to reduce the number of shared e-scooters available within the S-Bahn Ring.  The area defined by the railway ring constitutes the central area of the German capital.

Currently, there are 25,000 such vehicles, which residents and tourists can rent for their mobility needs in central Berlin. The plan is to cut this number down to 19,000 from March 2024. Outside of the S-Bahn ring, however, the availability of the e-scooters will remain unchanged.

Decluttering the urban space

The aim of the announced measure follows similar reasoning as those in other cities, which have banned or limited scooters on their territories.

Berlin authorities have listened to the concerns voiced by residents about the invasion of the two-wheelers in urban spaces that were previously the domain of pedestrians. Last year, a survey in the German capital found that locals happen upon an incorrectly parked or ditched e-scooter or bicycle once every 77 metres.

“Micromobility belongs to modern transport services, however, these services must be as orderly and safe as possible for all users,” Manja Schreiner, Berlin’s Transport Minister, told Tagesspiegel.

Badly parked and lying scooters take up a lot more space than when they are properly parked, which in turn creates obstacles to mobility, especially for groups such as blind people, people in wheelchairs, or cyclists, when the scooters are lying on the cycling paths.

What’s more, the announced restriction might just be the first step to a wider strategy of limiting the availability of rental e-scooters in the future.

As well as limiting the number of scooters for rent within the centre of Berlin, the senate has said it will organise more staff to patrol and tidy scooter hotspots.