This week's top three: E-scooters get the green light in Germany, ride hailing companies in Romania ask to be regulated, Barcelona imposes a one hour wait time on ride hailing.
1. Upper House of German Parliament approves e-scooter law
The Bundesrat (Federal Council), the Upper House of the German legislature, has approved a draft law which would legalise e-scooters in the country. The law amends existing traffic law to allow e-scooters to circulate on bicycle lanes and roads at a maximum speed of 20kmph. The Bundesrat revised the minimum user age proposed by the Government upwards from 12 to 14. Riders will need to be insured, but will not be legally required to wear a helmet.
2. Ride hailing companies in Romania ask to be regulated
A coalition of ride hailing companies in Romania have launched a petition asking to be regulated in the country. The petition follows an emergency ordinance promulgated by the Romanian Government which allows the police to fine drivers operating passenger transport services without an appropriate licence on the first offence, rather than after multiple offences, as had previously been the case. The coalition has asked for a specific ordinance regulating the ride hailing sector, and produced a petition which has so far garnered 37,000 signatures.
3. Barcelona imposes 1 hour wait time on ride hailing
The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, a coalition of municipal authorities in the Barcelona area, has voted in favour of increasing the minimum waiting time between ordering a ride hailing vehicle and the journey actually taking place. Under Catalan law, there must be a minimum "pre-contracting period" of 15 minutes for ride hailing journeys, but municipalities are allowed to increase this period if desired. The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona has increased the period to one hour. Additionally, ride hailing vehicles have been banned from driving in search of customers, and must remain stationary when not providing a journey. Unauto, which represents the interests of ride hailing firms, has announced that it will appeal against the new legislation.
This is a weekly note covering the top three developments in the regulation of on-demand transport in Europe. It covers taxis, ride-sharing, car sharing, carpooling, bikes, e-bikes, scooters, shared mopeds and anything else that's relevant to the sector. If you'd like to receive this direct to your inbox then please enter your email address below:
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