Are e-scooters turning Italian streets into a jungle?

Italy is bringing in tough new rules for users of electric scooters after a significant rise in accidents.

However, companies that operate rental scooters say requiring users to wear helmets - amongst other measures in the new law - will drive them away from a cheap, green transport option.

Under the updated codice della strada or highway code, riders will have to wear a helmet and take out insurance. Tougher penalties for drink-driving and parking offences have also been brought in as part of the wider law.

"It's an entirely ideological code which introduces the obligation to wear a helmet with a scooter," said Giorgio Cappiello, Senior Government Partnerships Manager for Bird, which operates a scooter and bikesharing network across Europe and the U.S.

"Despite the fact that accident data shows that our sharing scooters, in 2022 alone, recorded 372 accidents out of 50 million kilometers traveled, with zero deaths. It demonstrates that the law that we had, which was already one of the toughest in Europe, was more than enough. We don't see the need to introduce compulsory helmets."

Jungle streets

Supporters of the new laws say they are necessary due to the increase in accidents since rental scooters were introduced across the country. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has even described the streets of Italian cities as a "jungle."

According to official statistics, in 2023 there were 3365 road accidents involving scooters that caused injuries, with 21 fatalities. In the previous year, there were just under 3,000 accidents and 16 deaths.

One of the major questions about the implementation of the new highway code is whether users or scooter operators will be responsible for providing helmets. 

One operator Lime estimates it would cost over $1 million to attach helmets to its 10,000 scooters in 12 cities across Italy.

Tourist travel

E-scooters have become a popular option for visitors to Italy, especially in Rome with its limited public transport network compared to other European capitals.

As a result, transport experts believe the new rules will have more of an impact on tourists than Italian residents.

"We are already noticing the numbers of people, I mean the number of residents using scooters, are decreasing, while they are increasing the number of bikers," said Professor Matteo Caroli, Associate Dean for Sustainability and Impact at Luiss Business School in Rome.

"The scooters are used mostly by tourists, at least in the big Italian cities like Rome or Florence or Milan." 

Italy's new rules are part of a global backlash against rental scooters, with residents of Paris and Madrid even banning them in recent months.

They are not expected to disappear from the streets of Italian cities in the near future but operators are warning stricter regulations could eventually drive them out of the market.