Legal delay means Voi scooters to stay until December

Swedish scooter supplier Voi’s pink scooters will share Brussels’ streets with Bolt, Dott and Lime until at least the beginning of December 2024, as a decision in the legal case between Voi and the Brussels region, due at the end of September, has been postponed.

In Brussels, a stricter framework has applied from 1 February for shared scooters, bikes and standard scooters. The number of shared scooters was due to fall from 20,000 to 8,000, and scooters and bikes can only be parked in designated areas.

In December 2023, the Brussels region selected Bolt and Dott as the only operators that could provide shared scooters in the region.

But in April 2024, the Council of State suspended this decision, allowing other providers to use their scooters.

This angered environmental groups and many politicians including mobility minister Elke van den Brandt, who said at the time: “We urgently needed a reform of the electric scooter sector to make public spaces calmer and safer for pedestrians and people with reduced mobility.”

After Bolt and Dott won the Brussels region’s call for tenders at the end of 2023, and were authorised to offer the 8,000 shared scooters for three years, some operators who suffered from the decision went to court. They called for better conditions and for more access to the Brussels market.

Voi, whose licence officially expired on 23 August, said that as long as there is no decision from the courts, it will try to keep on the roads via legal arguments.

Lime is also still active in the shared scooter sector in Brussels, and its licence will not expire until 3 July 2025.