Illegally modified e-scooters pile up at local depot as owners refuse to pay fines

The surge in popularity of e-scooters has led many users to illegally modify them to increase their speed.  

As police stop and confiscate more of these vehicles, they go unclaimed and local depots are now full of them.   

In Santa Coloma de Gramanet, a town outside Barcelona, the local police cannot cope with the high number of unclaimed e-scooters.    

"It's crazy," said mayor Mireia González. There are currently 396 abandoned scooters in the city's storage facility, which is now at full capacity.

Most of these vehicles have been modified to circumvent speed limits, allowing them to travel faster than the law allows.   

To address the problem, the city council is pushing for new regulations that would allow them to send the abandoned scooters to recycling centers.  

The proposed changes would bring e-scooter regulations in line with those for cars.   

Currently, if a car is towed, the owner has two months to pay the fees and recover it; if not, the vehicle is destroyed and recycled.   

However, a legal loophole prevents the same approach from being applied to e-scooters. 

In addition to dealing with abandoned scooters, the city is also ramping up efforts to prosecute individuals who modify them illegally.  

"E-scooters have revolutionized mobility, but we need to ensure they coexist safely with other citizens," the mayor said. 

Many of the modified scooters are capable of reaching speeds twice the legal limit in pedestrian-heavy areas.  

Local police have stopped e-scooters that were supposed to be capped at 25 km/h but had been modified to reach speeds as high as 111 km/h.  

Earlier this month, a rider lost control and died while traveling at high speed on a modified scooter.  

The mayor has called for more awareness and education around the use of e-scooters.