TOP STORIES 🔥

📅 10 days until the Index 2025 launch

The European Shared Mobility Index 2025 is coming, and you have two opportunities to see the numbers before anyone else!

Want the key insights? Join us at 3pm on May 7th for our launch webinar, featuring a deep dive into the main findings and a panel discussion with leaders from Ryde, Dott, and Lyft Urban Solutions.

But if you’re attending the Shared Mobility Rocks event in Vienna next week, you’ll get a first look before anyone else.

Julien Chamussy (CEO Fluctuo) will present the key figures from the report on 4th May, during the "warm-up party" of the Shared Mobility Rocks conference.

It is the perfect opportunity to meet fellow shared mobility leaders, connect over a drink, and get into the groove before the conference kicks off the next day.

⏰ 6pm CET, 4th May
📍The Long Hall, Florianigasse 2, 1080 Vienna

🍝 Rome's Micromobility Is Cooking

Rome is one of Europe's largest shared micromobility market by ride volume — 13.2 million rentals recorded in 2025, up 10% year-on-year, according to the national Sharing Mobility Observatory. That figure alone explains why every serious operator on the continent is watching the Italian capital closely right now. Current licences for e-scooters and e-bikes expire in November 2026, and the city has been preparing a new tender since early 2026, initially targeting publication for March or April. As of writing, it has yet to be released.

The Current Landscape

The current licence holders are Bird, Dott and Lime for scooters, and Dott and Lime for bikes. Winning both tenders in the same cycle gave Dott and Lime a structural advantage - in fleet management, user base and operational footprint - one that competitors will look to challenge in the next round. The regulatory framework is strict: a maximum of 30 vehicles per operator in the Tridente ZTL, 300 scooters and 600 bikes in the wider historic centre, and 600 vehicles across the first municipality.

The system's defining feature is its integration with Metrebus, Rome's public transport pass. Holders receive three free 30-minute rides per day on shared scooters and bikes. The uptake has been spectacular — in the historic centre, around 70% of all rides are driven by this incentive. For the city, it's a political success - a seamless extension of the public transport offer. For operators, it is the central commercial tension of the market: a subsidy-like mechanism they did not price, cannot control, and struggle to sustain.

What the new tender may change

The city is reportedly considering two free 15-minute rides per day for Metrebus holders instead of three 30-minute rides — a model better aligned with actual usage and less damaging to operator economics. A monthly subscription tier for Metrebus users has also been discussed as a potential middle ground, though it has received limited support so far.

The administration also aims to move away from fleet suspensions as an enforcement tool — a blunt instrument that recently left users stranded during the ongoing Lime dispute (currently under appeal at the TAR Lazio) — and toward financial penalties calibrated to the severity of breaches. The Lime case has become a cautionary example shaping the new framework: a suspended fleet is a broken service, and a broken service quickly becomes a political issue.

A unified registration platform is also planned, replacing the current fragmented system in which Metrebus bonus recognition failures have triggered formal Antitrust complaints.

National regulation adds complexity

The tender coincides with Italy's updated e-scooter regulation. From 17 May 2026, e-scooters must carry identification plates, while mandatory third-party insurance (RC) has been postponed to 16 July 2026. For operators, this means adapting fleets to new technical and administrative requirements — a non-trivial shift that could impact both bid economics and deployment timelines.

Why every operator wants Rome

Despite its regulatory complexity, Rome remains an essential market. Its scale, year-round tourist demand, dense urban form, and deep integration with public transport make it structurally different from any other European city. The Metrebus link alone — whether viewed as an opportunity or a constraint — creates a captive user base unmatched elsewhere. Cooltra, operating mopeds under a separate licence, has expanded its Rome fleet from 250 to 1,600 vehicles over nine years and has publicly committed to further growth.

Expect aggressive bidding from all current operators, along with potential new entrants drawn by the market’s scale. The real question is not who will bid — everyone will — but whether a sustainable commercial model can emerge in a city that combines strong public integration with tight pricing constraints. The design of the new tender, when it finally arrives, will provide the answer.

LAUNCHES & EXPANSIONS 🚀

Bajs
Expansion in Zagreb (HR) 🚲 (+1,000)

Bolt
Upcoming launch in Wicklow (IE) 🚲

Donkey Republic
Season launch in …

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PAUSES & EXITS ⛔️

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TENDER WATCH 👀

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CITY UPDATES 🌐

Caen (FR) | Ridership records set for shared and long term rental bike services.

Italy (IT) | Mandatory insurance for scooter riders is postponed again until June 16th.

Subscribe to premium to reveal 5 more city updates.

INDUSTRY NEWS 🗞️

Bolt introduces its Riding Score in Spain (ES).

Bolt upgrades its scooter fleet in Brussels (BE) with 1,200 new models.

Dott and Wolt join forces, offering their members special benefits in the partner’s service.

Inurba Mobility unveils new Bubi bike ahead of Budapest (HU) launch.

JCDecaux introduces one-week bans to prevent account sharing for Vélov in Lyon (FR).

Standab plans to deploy 3,500+ parking & charging docks in 2026.

Voi saw a +52% ridership increase during the last London tube strikes.

Voi just published its Q1 2026 results, with a 38% revenue increase YoY.

60 participants took part in the first Vélib’ race in Paris (FR).