Electric scooter ban on public transport to remain in force until October 31

The ban on electric scooters on public transport in Barcelona will remain in force until October 31, for three more months than initially planned, as announced by Barcelona's Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) on Wednesday.

The restriction came into force on February 1 for a period of six months, with fines of €200 for infringement.  

The ATM moved to bring in the ban after an e-scooter exploded and caught fire on board a train in Barcelona in November 2022. 

Authorities are asking for three more months for the working group to find a definitive regulation for access to such vehicles on public transport.

Similar bans on buses have also been adopted by authorities in towns and cities such as Girona, Tarragona, Lleida and Sitges. 

While the ban is in place, e-scooters will not be allowed on board vehicles or past ticket barriers in stations. Parking spaces at railway stations and bus interchanges are being promoted. 

In fact, AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area) is looking at the possibility of using space in larger car parks to accommodate e-scooters in a way that is secure and easy for users to access.  

Dozens of e-scooter users have signed up for the Bicibox system, a free bicycle parking service in the Barcelona area, but in early February, Carles Conill, director of Sustainable Mobility at the AMB, expected that number to rise. 

Although the AMB was already working on the integration of electric scooters into the Bicibox system to "encourage intermodality", Conill told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the ATM's six-month e-scooter ban took them by surprise. 

"We trust that opening up Bicibox to electric scooters will be a useful measure for users and we will see during these first days how it works," he added. 

E-scooter catches fire

The incident that prompted the ban in the first place happened in November 2022 near the Sant Boi del Llobregat station of the FGC train line, and CCTV footage showed passengers hurriedly moving away from the fire, before the carriage filled with smoke. Three people were left injured.