Despite the fact that there have been no applications, nor licenses issued by the city council, electric scooters for rental can be found in dozens of different locations around Torrevieja and it’s surrounds.
Companies continue to place them in areas of high tourist influx, on pavements, street corners, sea front restaurants and bars, commercial areas, plaza’s and squares, despite facing the daily payment for dozens of removals by municipal tow trucks, and the imposition of subsequent fines.
The taxi sector continues to warn of dangerous road practices, particularly overnight and in the early hours of the morning, although they also say that in high season they have no impact on the volume of customers
The City Council has gone on to state that it has no intention of authorising the activity, while is not specifically regulated in the ordinance.
The Councillor for Security, Federico Alarcón, confirmed that all vehicles on public roads that fail to comply with local traffic regulations will be removed. He also indicated that aside from municipal regulations, the legalisation of this activity is not being considered, and that no company has requested a license for their use in the public domain.
“We are going to continue carrying out this removal of scooters,” said the councillor.
The proliferation of the supply of these electric scooters, that can be rented at a rate of 0.20 euros per minute, has also been fuelled by intense competition between two companies which share a very similar colour and name, both fighting for the lucrative business despite them having to travel almost entirely on conventional roads, because there are hardly any specific lanes for scooters or such vehicles in Torrevieja.
The taxi sector is also beginning to notice the impact of renting scooters that can be used anywhere from a mobile app. “But right now the problem is focused on traffic safety rather than the impact on customers,” says the president of radio taxi, Vicente José García Torres, who represents the majority of the sector in Torrevieja.
