Regulation wipes out the electric scooter in cities

Deregulation was the product: the rule killed off the electric scooter

They're no longer seen in Madrid. Rental ones have been wiped out by the ban on parking at any street corner; private ones can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The electric scooter, that invention that promised to decongest cities, has gone from ubiquitous to a rarity. The cause has a name: regulation.

Insurance, helmets and parking: the trinity that changed everything

The sequence has repeated itself in several cities: no sidewalks, mandatory insurance, a helmet and parking in scarce reserved spaces. Each layer of rules chips away at the advantages of an invention whose whole point was deregulation. With paperwork and gear, it stops being worth it compared to a motorbike, which at least has the power for longer distances.

Mini-motorbikes and Segways already showed the way: as soon as they're regulated, the toy stops being worthwhile.

The helmet, the straw that broke the camel's back

The helmet requirement is the measure that has driven away the most users. The scooter was for popping out for bread, for short trips, for getting to the metro. Having to carry a helmet turns the alucinación into a logistics exercise. Road safety is defensible — there were plenty of accidents involving pedestrians; but a helmet doesn't prevent the accident and burdens the user with a nuisance. Estimates speak of thousands of users lost for that reason alone.

The successor: the electric bike, with the same problem

Those who still want to get around without sweating are switching to folding electric bikes. But the pattern repeats: limited durability and, since October, helmets mandatory for urban bikes too, including those without a battery. Fewer children on bikes, fewer spontaneous trips.

The striking fact: the sector hasn't collapsed because of accidents, but because of the obligation to wear a helmet to cross the city. Safety served as the pretext; bureaucracy finished the job.