Barcelona's Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) has taken a further step towards the possibility of banning electric scooters from public transport after one of the devices caught fire on an FGC train in mid-November. This Monday, the ATM board decided "to urge operators to make the modifications in their operating regulations, in order to impose a temporary ban while studying what the use of the scooters should be”, according to Marc Sanglas, official in the Catalan government's territorial department. Sanglas clarified that the ATM as such does not have the capacity to prohibit it, but that the operators must do so, each in their own regulations.
Thus, the intention is that, from January, a temporary ban lasting for six months will be imposed to give time to be able to put together a regulation that guarantees the safety of public transport users and coexistence between scooter users and the rest. This does not necessarily imply that the ban is the ultimate goal, according to TMB president, Laia Bonet, who pointed out that "the destination is not the ban", but pointed out that "incidents have occurred that call into question safety in certain cases" and for this reason she defended the need to apply the ban "temporarily" while looking for a way to maintain the compatibility of entering scooters and at the same time guarantee safety.
The ban on electric scooters in public transport has been on the table since November 17th, when one of the devices cuaght fire inside a FGC train, specifically at Sant Boi del Llobregat, and led to the service being interrupted and the evacuation of the train. On that occasion, three people were slightly injured and six fire vehicles were mobilized. That accident set off the alarms and led to an ATM emergency meeting with public transport operators and public administrations to study the prohibition of these vehicles on board, with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of users.
With the temporary ban, the ATM is following the example of cities such as London, which has banned electric scooters as well as other Personal Mobility Vehicles (VMP) such as electric unicycles, on public transport since December 2021. In fact, the move in the British capital also followed several fires involving these vehicles. Fires in private homes have also been documented, usually during the charging process. It should be borne in mind that currently the transfer of VMPs on public transport is only covered by the FGC, while the other operators simply do not make any reference to it in their regulations. For its part, rail operator Renfe, despite not being part of the ATM, has already shown its intention to join this possible ban.