Prague bans electric kick scooters from city center from 2026

The Eastern European tourist magnet Prague, according to its residents, is suffering from too many incorrectly parked and obstructive electric kick scooters. Due to an increasing number of accidents involving e-scooters, some of them fatal, residents' complaints have piled up. Consequently, the city council imposed a rental ban on the first district, i.e. Prague's city center, at the beginning of the week.

Majority of citizens against e-scooters

The Czech capital is reacting to increasing tensions between e-scooter users and other road users with this regulation. This was preceded by a referendum held in early October due to numerous citizen complaints. In it, a clear majority of 82 percent of participants voted in favor of a parking ban for rental electric scooters. The measure affects all e-scooter sharing services, including Bolt or Lime, which were not uniformly regulated until now.

Bicycles and e-bikes in sharing are to remain part of Prague's micro-mobility. However, the city will work out new framework agreements with the operating companies to clearly define usage, parking, and responsibilities. This also includes the use of designated sidewalk and road areas for parking the bikes. Prague will charge the rental companies a monthly parking fee of approximately one euro per bicycle for this.

(fpi)