A major European city is set to ban e-scooters as residents have complained of chaos on pavements.
Prague will ban electric scooter rentals from January 2026.
A deputy mayor of the Czech capital has criticised the e-scooters, saying they have caused havoc in the city.
Prague is known for its cobbled streets and historic city centre, which have drawn in foreign tourists for decades.
Nearly 1.4 million people live there and the city attracted around 8.1 million tourists in 2024.
But e-scooters in the city have affected the calm atmosphere.
Earlier this week, council members approved changes concerning shared transport in the city, The Guardian reported.
Both pedal and electric bikes will face new rules on where they can be parked.
Prague will ban electric scooter rentals from January 2026
However, e-scooters were not mentioned in the regulations – which means their use in the city will be stopped altogether.
The national Pirate party chair, Zdeněk Hřib, who is a deputy mayor in charge of transport at Prague’s city hall, wrote on X: ‘The end of electric scooters approved!’
Zdeněk added: ‘We are introducing clear rules that will clear public space from uncontrolled scooter traffic, which was often used in the city centre more as a tourist attraction than a means of transport and caused chaos on and in pedestrian zones.’
Prague officials said they were responding to residents who complained about the scooters whizzing by on pavements or in parks, which could be dangerous.
E-scooters also came under criticism for blocking pavements or street parking spots when not in use. Prague said e-scooters had higher accident rates than bikes.
Lime, one of the biggest operators of shared e-scooters in the city, said it regretted the decision.
Czech news agency CTK said Lime’s country director, Václav Petr, said in cities where there was ‘constructive dialogue’ with operators, ‘scooters can work very well and serve citizens’.
It comes after other cities have cracked down on e-scooter usage. Madrid banned rental e-scooters in 2024. Meanwhile in the UK, e-scooter riders could be forced to display license plates, pass a test and have insurance under a proposed crackdown aimed at restoring order to the streets.
Prague officials said they were responding to residents who complained about the scooters whizzing by on pavements or in parks, which could be dangerous
A Lime spokesperson said: ‘Over the past several years, our e-scooters have provided thousands of people in Prague with a flexible, sustainable, and accessible way to get around the city, and it is unfortunate the Council chose this more drastic step instead of regulation to improve the program for residents.
‘That said, we do not see this as having a major impact on our service in Prague, as Lime has a robust and popular shared e-bike service in the city.
‘Similar e-bike programs have been successful in many cities, including London and Paris, and we expect this to be true for Prague going forward.’
Lime said the Council’s vote was only on a concept — no final contract has been signed, and they do not expect any change to take effect as of January 1.
Lime added this type of action remains extremely rare across Europe and globally, with the vast majority of cities instead choosing to launch, extend, or expand shared e-scooter programs as part of their sustainable transport strategies.
