Prague 1 wants to ban shared e-scooters from the city center

The majority of council members, representing various political parties, voted in favor of the resolution. The council is citing a recently published legal methodology from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport, which describes the possibilities for regulating bikesharing systems.

Among other things, it suggests the possibility of regulation through market regulations, which is a tool of the Trade Licensing Act that cities can use to regulate sales outside of physical stores (typically, such as market regulations). Brno, for example, already uses market regulations to regulate bikesharing systems, specifying the locations where shared bikes can be rented and returned.

The Council thus demands that the municipal district, taking into account this new methodology, takes every possible step to ban the rental of motorized scooters on the properties entrusted to Prague 1.

It is worth noting that there are only a small number of these properties. The municipal district also plans to approach the city council with a request for a similar action on its properties. Not only in Prague 1 but throughout the entire Prague Monument Reserve.

The decision of the Council comes shortly after a new informal agreement was reached on September 1st, launching a system for returning bikes and scooters from all companies to predefined locations. Electric scooter operators have also committed to having a visible sign on the handlebars indicating the prohibition of riding on sidewalks.

Vojtěch Ryvola (ANO), the councilor for transport in Prague 1, praised the results of the agreement in the first few days but also proposed, following the example of Paris, a local referendum to gauge public opinion on what portion of the population in the first district wishes to continue the operation of shared electric bikes and scooters in the city center.

The operators of shared electric bike and scooter systems are primarily calling for a clear parking system for these means of transportation that would be as intuitive and uniform as possible throughout Prague.

The current resolution of the Council of the first municipal district only concerns motorized scooters, not electric bikes or traditional bikes without the assistance of an electric motor. Furthermore, the regulation through market regulations would primarily affect the method of their rental. It would not involve a ban on entering or passing through a given location.

It is interesting to note that, according to the current methodology recently issued by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has a different legal standpoint regarding the regulation of bikesharing through market regulations.

They believe that market regulations cannot regulate bikesharing because, from the perspective of this ministry, market regulations can only be used to regulate situations where the service is provided by an entrepreneur physically on-site, i.e., if they were personally present at the rental. The methodology disagrees with this legal perspective but also points out that this discrepancy may only be resolved in the future through the decision-making practice of administrative courts or constitutional courts. Or alternatively, through the amendment of the relevant paragraphs.

The current decision of the Council does not represent an immediate change in the current state. Based on the approved resolution, Prague 1 will take further steps aimed at banning the offering of shared electric scooters for rent on the streets of central Prague.