• Despite considering and analyzing different measures to reduce the risks derived from the access of electric scooters and assessing whether the risk reaches a tolerable level in terms of user safety, it has been concluded that, for now, sufficient guarantees are not given.
   
• The operational working group will remain and any changes to it that may justify a review of the agreement to maintain the ban will be raised to the ATM board of directors.

Barcelona, October 20, 2023.- The Autoritat del Transport Metropolità of the Barcelona area decides to recommend that the ban on the entry of electric scooters and other personal mobility vehicles (VMP), such as electric unicycles, into public transport be maintained indefinitely, for which reason, the ATM urges public transport operators to incorporate it into the general conditions of use of their services in order to continue to contemplate this prohibition that has been in effect since February 1, 2023.

The regulation applicable to VMPs is considered to not provide sufficient safety guarantees to date to allow their presence on public transport. In this sense, the ATM will ask the competent authorities to speed up this regulation and put a special emphasis on the safety of batteries.

Despite the set of measures analyzed to reduce the risk and the impact, such as the hourly limitation by degree of occupation, definition of specific location zones, limitation of the number of vehicles, limitation of the maximum size, prohibition of load in the vehicles or the obligation to access together, it has not been possible to establish any scenario in which there is not a very high risk factor not tolerable for public transport operators in terms of their responsibility for the safety of users.

It should be borne in mind that the impact of the deflagration of the battery of these VMPs on public transport can be very high, especially due to the high density of passengers in certain increasingly wide time slots, the presence of tunnels in the case of the railway system or the impossibility of avoiding the coincidence of VMPs with vulnerable people such as People with reduced mobility, children and babies.

This general risk scenario -low probability, but high severity- is concluded based on the results of the working group of operation of the Public Transport Emergencies Coordination Committee of the ATM. These conclusions indicate that the phenomenon by which a battery fire occurs is thermal runaway; an extremely fast degradation process in which a series of exothermic chemical reactions are catalyzed that generate fire, smoke, gas emission, fragmentation and explosion. In addition, the studies conducted also conclude that the risk of this phenomenon occurring can be increased when the battery powering the VMP is subjected to conditions of software tampering, overcharging or overdischarging the battery or physical damage, linked to the battery position on the bottom of the platform.

Aim to guarantee the intermodality of VMPs

he decision taken, which has always taken into account essential aspects of public health and making the principle of safety prevail at all times, also maintains the final objective of favoring the intermodality. In this regard, the ATM urges administrations and public transport operators to continue encouraging the incorporation of intermodal parking lots for electric scooters and electric VMPs near public transport stations. During this period of prohibition, scooter parking spaces have been gradually enabled at railway stations and bus interchanges.

The technical work of the operational working group will continue

On the other hand, the ATM has also taken the decision that, in order to continue analyzing the maximum possible coexistence of both modes of transport, the operational working group will remain, while at the same time instructing the technical services of the consortium to a monitoring of the regulations and technology relating to electric scooters and electric VMP and their safety. In this sense, any change in this respect that could justify a review of the agreement to maintain the indefinite ban, will be raised to the board of directors of the ATM.

Announcements and information for users

From February 1, public transport operators and the administrations responsible for their services will inform through all their channels of the temporary ban on accessing their facilities and vehicles with scooters or electric unicycles (even if folded). The graphic support of the information is the following sign:

Official penalties

Reports drawn up by the intervention teams of the public transport operators for breaches of the ban on transporting electric scooters and unicycles in vehicles and at facilities beyond the ticket barrier will result in a penalty of 200 euros.

Background of the temporary ban

As a result of the explosion of an electric scooter in a carriage of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya on November 17, the Board of Directors of the ATM decided, in its meeting on December 19, 2022, to ask public transport operators to amend the general terms and conditions of use of their services to include a temporary ban, lasting a period of six months, on access to public transport for electric scooters and other personal electric mobility vehicles (unicycles).

This decision was taken under the principle of preventive security that governs operators regarding the protection of users, staff working in the public transport service and its facilities. In this way, it was decided not to allow the access of these vehicles until it was concluded under which conditions the safety of these personal mobility vehicles could be guaranteed.

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