Sharing scooters, only three operators remain. What changes from July 1st

The shared fleets of scooters that will be able to circulate on the streets of Rome will be from Lime, Dott and Bird. This was decided by the Campidoglio at the end of the selection work launched by the special commission following the publication of the tender, in August 2022. The three companies ranked first in a ranking in which 7 participated, including Voi Technology, which he had also filed an appeal (upheld by the Tar) for exclusion. A foreseeable bureaucratic hitch which, together with the resignation of one of the commission members, slowed down the selection process, which finally reached its conclusion.

The assignment will last three years starting from 1 July 2023, and the operators will have to comply with the guidelines of the new and more stringent regulation relating to the management of shared electric scooter services in the Capital, guidelines approved in June 2022 .

What the new call for sharing scooters provides

Among the main changes compared to the past, the decrease in operators (there are currently seven, but from 1 July they will become precisely 3) and a maximum number of 9,000 vehicles, of which 3,000 in the central areas and the others equally divided between the Municipalities. Objective, strongly pursued by the Councilor for Mobility, Eugenio Patanè, to try to keep at bay the known critical issues related to the circulation of scooters, and therefore wild parking, passages on sidewalks and bus lanes, heaps of abandoned vehicles near monuments and areas high artistic and cultural value.

To achieve this goal, the Municipality has the task of identifying the new no-parking areas and where to create the stalls and the automated monitoring of the location of the vehicles through the Roma Capitale application platform. In the event of infringements, the freight companies risk suspension or revocation of the authorisation.

Added to these provisions are the provision of a metal plate on vehicles with the addition of a QR code which allows immediate identification through electronic devices, a maximum speed of 20km/h (which automatically becomes 6km/h in pedestrian areas), rentals only for adults and obligation to register with an identity card.

Each operator will be able to obtain the authorisation, against a fee to be paid to Roma Capitale which varies between 1 and 4 euros per month for each vehicle, for a number of vehicles between a minimum of 2,500 and a maximum of 3,000. Increase the territorial extension of the service with a minimum area of ​​95 sq km in total extended to 5 areas between the Aurelian Walls, the railway ring, the green belt, the Gra, Ostia and Acilia. Among the requirements for winning the tender there is also that which concerns the operation of the service with respect to metro lines and stations.

Finally, for the assignment of the rental, the maintenance system, the control and redistribution of the fleet, the customer contact system, environmental sustainability, the possibility of offering season tickets, the discounts for public transport users were also evaluated and discounts for systematic trips.