TOP STORIES 🔥

⌚ Better Late Than Never: Manchester Eyes Scooters

Manchester could soon join the list of English cities with shared e-scooters. Manchester City Council is drawing up proposals for a rental trial that could start in summer 2027, after the Department for Transport (DfT) gave provisional approval. The scheme would run on a commercial basis, but the procurement process has not started yet and the council stresses that no final decision has been made. Any go-ahead will depend on further consultation with Greater Manchester Police, disability groups, councillors and other key stakeholders, as well as final approval from the DfT.

The timing is tight. England's rental e-scooter trials began in 2020 and have been extended five times, most recently until May 2028. In July 2025, the government reopened the scheme to new areas, provided they test new features or unique local characteristics. Summer 2027 is the latest date a new trial can start. In other words, a Manchester scheme launched at the deadline would have less than a year to run before the national trials end, while private e-scooters remain illegal on public roads and there is still no legislative timetable. For any operator, the business case will rest on what comes after 2028.

A city with a complicated past

Manchester has a history with shared mobility, and not all of it is good. In June 2017, it became Mobike's first UK city. Fifteen months later, the Chinese operator pulled out after 10% of its fleet was lost or vandalised in a single month, with bikes found in canals and hanging from lampposts. It was the first time Mobike had left a city because of user behaviour.

The region then turned to a public model. Launched in November 2021, the bike-hire scheme now known as Starling Bank Bikes serves Manchester, Salford and Trafford as part of the Bee Network, with Beryl as its operator. It has passed 1.15 million rides in April 2025, more than half its fleet is now electric, and the long-term ambition is to expand the fleet to as many as 8,000 bikes.

E-scooters took a different path. Salford launched a Lime trial in September 2020 and has renewed it every two years since. Salford's deputy mayor Mike McCusker calls it an "overwhelming success", with more than 2.5 million journeys and an estimated 600,000 car trips replaced. Rochdale, by contrast, ended its trial in 2022 after 12 months. Manchester, the region's core city, has stayed on the sidelines for six years, even though Salford's scooters operate just across the River Irwell, in what is effectively the same city centre.

What is at stake for Manchester

The first challenge is coherence. In January 2026, Transport for Greater Manchester launched preliminary market engagement for an e-scooter trial on behalf of several districts, running to 2028. Whether Manchester joins a region-wide framework or goes it alone will shape the user experience. Scooters that stop at municipal borders make little sense in a single, continuous city centre.

The second is behaviour. Salford's experience shows the risks. In 2024, children were reported racing Lime scooters through car parks at Salford Quays, prompting Lime to tighten its ID checks. Pavement riding and inconsiderate parking remain recurring complaints. In Manchester, these concerns come on top of widespread illegal use of private e-scooters, including by delivery riders, which will make support from Greater Manchester Police all the more decisive.

The third is integration. With bus franchising, trams and Starling Bank Bikes now under the Bee Network banner, e-scooters could become one more link in an integrated system rather than a stand-alone service. Lime, with six years of local experience, has already said it would like to expand into Manchester. Other operators accredited by CoMoUK are likely to look closely too.

Manchester's decision will be watched beyond Greater Manchester. It comes at a time when the question is no longer whether e-scooters belong in English cities, but under what rules they will operate after 2028.

🥧 Cities Want Their Cut of the Shared Mobility Pie

The pavement is no longer free. As tenders replace open markets and operators finally turn a profit, cities have both the leverage and the motive to ask for a share of the revenue generated on their streets. Almost all of them already charge something: a study of 120 cities in 16 countries by Portland State University found that 88% levy fees on shared micromobility. On average, programme fees represent 4.9% of fare revenue, and 16.4% once taxes are added. The real question is what those fees are for: covering administrative costs, steering operator behaviour, or funding the city.

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LAUNCHES & EXPANSIONS 🚀

Hoppy
Expansion in Brugge (BE) 🚲 (+104)

Mainz Mobility
Expansion to Bodenheim and Nackenheim (DE) 🚲

…

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PAUSES & EXITS ⛔️

Dott
Exit from Pápa (HU), as part of a national withdrawal 🛴

⭐️ Lime
Exit from Oxford (GB), following Voi’s selection 🚲 & 🛴

RegioRadStuttgart
Service closure in Stuttgart (DE), replaced by Lime 🚲

Splash
Exit from Bucharest (RO), due to new fees 🛴

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TENDER WATCH 👀

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CITY UPDATES 🌐

Barcelona (ES) | The Catalan Competition Authority calls for preserving the private bike sharing services.

Bucharest (RO) | The introduction of new fees for shared scooter operators puts the services at risk.

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INDUSTRY NEWS 🗞️

⭐️ Donkey Republic publishes its Q3 2026 financial report.
Steady growth for Donkey Republic (+11% revenue, 38% EBITDA margin), though its fleet is expanding faster than its trips, pulling revenue per bike down.

⭐️ nextbike undergoes a major restructuring, leading to multiple layoffs.
While further details are still expected, it highlights the race to profitability in the European industry.

Dott partners with NS and ProRail to offer an alternative to train during works on the tracks between Alphen aan den Rijn and Bodegraven (NL).