Minors barred from renting electric scooters in Bucharest

People under 18 will not be able to rent electric scooters, and companies operating fleets of scooters will have to verify the users’ ages, according to a project approved this week by the General Council of Bucharest.

Specifically, minors will be prohibited from renting electric scooters from the street if they do not have a driving license, as is the case for those who have already turned 16.

Another change is that users will no longer be able to leave the electric scooters anywhere after using them. Instead, they will have to park them in specially designated areas or in places where they do not obstruct pedestrian traffic.

Parking is prohibited at public transport stops, on pedestrian crossings, at intersections and near them, on green spaces, on the roadway, on bicycle lanes, and in places where pedestrian or vehicle access is blocked. On sidewalks at least two meters wide, scooters may be left only if a continuous, unobstructed pedestrian passage at least 1.5 meters wide remains available.

If users do not leave the scooters in the assigned locations, ride-sharing companies will be required to go to the location within no more than two hours and relocate the scooter left in an inappropriate place, or risk fines.

Fines ranging from RON 2,000 to RON 5,000 will be imposed for placing scooters outside approved areas, placing more scooters in the public domain than authorized, and failing to meet the deadline for collecting or relocating improperly parked scooters. For operating a rental service without a valid permit and continuing operations while the permit is suspended, the fine ranges from RON 8,000 to RON 10,000.

A fee has also been introduced for electric scooter rental companies, amounting to RON 0.75 per electric scooter per day, which could also lead to higher rental costs.

Scooters may be ridden on bicycle lanes, where available, or on roads where the maximum speed limit is 50 km/h. Riding on sidewalks or in paths in parks is prohibited, except on bicycle lanes built on them. Riders are also barred from using accessories or mobile devices (phones, smartphones, tablets, etc.), including headphones, while riding a self-service rented electric scooter.

Moreover, carrying two people on the same scooter is prohibited, as is riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The rule changes also imposed some technical requirements. Scooters must be equipped with GPS tracking systems, lights, reflective elements, functional brakes, and an audible warning device. Operators of electric scooters must use GPS and geofencing to limit speed, restrict movement, deactivate the scooter, and indicate areas where parking is prohibited. Furthermore, they must restrict riding and parking in the Old Town through their apps, while the municipality may subsequently designate other restricted areas.

Bucharest general mayor Ciprian Ciucu said the project was a common-sense measure that imposed very few restrictions and simply introduced a fee for the use of public space.

“Look at social media groups; unfortunately, everyone hates scooters,” Ciucu said, according to Hotnews.ro.

The companies renting these electric scooters argued that the new regulations will not solve the problem of accidents involving minors, as the latest statistics showed that in most cases in which minors were involved in electric scooter accidents, the scooters were privately owned, not rented.