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In 2023, the European cities with the highest number of shared e-scooter rides included the German cities Berlin and Hamburg and the Belgian capital, Brussels. Berlin was the European leader in e-scooter ridership, with **** million trips recorded that year. Brussels and Hamburg followed with ** million trips each. 

The end of e-scooters in Paris

While Paris had ** electric scooters per 10,000 inhabitants in 2022, these disappear from Parisian streets at the end of August in 2023. In April 2023, Paris held a referendum on the continuation of e-scooter sharing in the city, in which over ** percent of voters expressed their opposition to the vehicles. Despite a relatively low turnout, the city announced that it would follow the referendum's outcome and ban e-scooter schemes from city streets from September 2023. This ban applies to shared e-scooter schemes, while private e-scooters remain legal. The free-floating scooters had been criticized for littering and blocking pavements, and their safety for riders had been questioned. 

Uncertain future for e-scooters

Paris is not the only city experiencing a backlash to e-scooters. Other cities, including Copenhagen, Barcelona, and Riga, have already temporarily banned or significantly restricted e-scooters. Meanwhile, the vehicles are still in the trial stage in the United Kingdom, where private e-scooters remain illegal so far, and only a few cities have shared e-scooter schemes that will be up for review. While there is public criticism of e-scooters in Germany, micro-mobility vehicles make up a large proportion of the share vehicle fleet in the country, and the market is projected to grow further in the coming years.