Athens introduces new rules for electric scooters

The municipality of Athens is introducing comprehensive traffic and parking regulations for light personal electric vehicles (electric scooters), following a majority vote in the Municipal Council.

As Mayor Harris Doukas explained, the aim is to improve urban mobility, enhance road safety, and protect public spaces, CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.

The new rules prohibit the use of electric scooters on pavements around the Acropolis, Ermou Street, and Aeolou Street. In addition, speed limits have been established, and 1,574 parking spaces for electric scooter rental companies have been created across 124 mass parking zones.

Under the new regulations, a speed limit of 6 km/h applies in the Psirri area, Kerameikos pedestrian street, and all sidewalks and public spaces. Riding scooters on pavements while manoeuvring them as a pedestrian, with the vehicle on its side, is also forbidden. Traffic is not allowed on roads with a speed limit above 50 km/h or on other sections specifically designated by the municipality.
Rental companies are encouraged to use existing software to track their vehicles and enforce speed limits.

For citizens, scooters must be parked so that pedestrians can pass freely with at least 1.5 metres of space. Parking is banned on ramps, crossings, building entrances, other critical access points, and within 20 metres of archaeological sites. For rental companies, parking in public spaces is permitted only in the 124 designated mass parking zones across the city, which provide a total of 1,574 spaces. Each space measures 1.3 m times 0.4 m.

File photo