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TOP STORIES 🔥

🍿 Brussels' Shared Mobility Summer Saga

What was supposed to be a managed, politically controlled transition for Brussels' shared mobility market became, over the summer of 2026, one of the most chaotic regulatory episodes in European micromobility. A court ruling, a surprise cancellation, a petition, a political revolt, and a last-minute lifeline for bikes — but not scooters. Here is the full story.

A market Brussels tried to control

Brussels had been one of the first European cities to regulate shared scooters, launching a competitive licensing process in 2021 that progressively tightened the market from over 20,000 vehicles and multiple operators down to a carefully managed duopoly. By the end of 2023, only Bolt and Dott had retained the right to operate scooters in the city, with a combined fleet capped at 8,000 vehicles. For shared bikes, three operators had been selected in 2023: Bolt, Dott, and Voi.

Then, in June 2026, the Brussels government announced it would ban shared scooters from 1 January 2027, citing safety concerns, 666 injuries in 2025, and their use in 25 shooting incidents. Shared bikes would be maintained. The decision looked firm. It was not.

The lawsuit that changed everything

Lime — one of the operators excluded from the 2023 licensing process — had filed a legal challenge against the award decision. On 30 July 2026, the Conseil d'État ruled in Lime's favour and annulled all current shared mobility licences in Brussels. The consequence was immediate and sweeping: not just scooters, but all shared bikes too were ordered to cease operations by 1 September 2026 at the latest. The city's carefully managed transition had been overturned by a court ruling triggered by the very operator that had been excluded from the market three years earlier.

Operators and users push back

The reaction was immediate. Dott mobilised its users directly, urging them to contact their elected officials and sign a petition to save shared mobility in Brussels. A petition collected over 1,000 signatures within days and will be examined by the Brussels Parliament. Touring, the Belgian road safety and mobility organisation, also called for shared e-bikes to be saved — an unusual ally for the micromobility sector. Political parties MR and Vooruit publicly called for bikes to be maintained despite the ruling.

A partial lifeline — for bikes, not scooters

A mid-August meeting between Brussels authorities and operators produced a pragmatic compromise. Shared bikes will be allowed to continue operating during a transitional period — Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt stated clearly: "Our objective is clear: shared bikes should continue to be part of Brussels' mobility without a service break for users." Scooters, however, remain on track for removal — the government's political intent to ban them from January 2027 is unchanged, now reinforced rather than undermined by the court ruling.

What Minister Van den Brandt has called a 'bulletproof' new ordinance will need to be passed at the autumn parliamentary session, covering both the definitive ban on scooters and a new licensing framework for bikes. The January 2027 deadline, while no longer legally binding following the Conseil d'État ruling, remains the political target.

What happens to Villo!

The shared bike transitional period buys time — but the underlying gap remains. Villo!, Brussels' ageing JCDecaux station-based bike-share, had its contract extended to September 2028 to allow time for a replacement scheme to be procured. Until then, the city is navigating with transitional licences, a politically sensitive ban, a court ruling it didn't anticipate, and an autumn parliamentary calendar that will determine whether Brussels ends up with a legally durable shared mobility framework — or another challenge from an excluded operator.

The Brussels saga is not over. It is, most likely, entering its next chapter.

💪 Bubi Reloaded — But Where Do You Park?

Budapest's MOL Bubi 3.0 officially launched on August 4th 2026 with genuine ambition. After a painful transitional period under a temporary contract, the new third-generation system brings 3,300 bikes — 2,500 standard and 800 electric-assist — across 222 stations, operated by Inurba Mobility under a contract with BKK. Fleet expansion to 5,000 bikes is planned before end of year, with coverage progressively extended to all metro stations and outer districts. MOL continues as naming sponsor; Mastercard joins as digitalisation partner.

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LAUNCHES & EXPANSIONS 🚀

Bleeper
Expansion in Dublin (IE) 🚲 (+750 ebikes)

Bolt
Launch in Tallinn (EE), Tartu (EE) and Riga (LV) 🚲

Cooltra
Expansion in …

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TENDER WATCH 👀

🟢 Open

 Lyon (FR) | 🛴 (1×3,500)
◾️One company to be selected to operate 3,500 scooters
◾️4-year contract strating February 2027

⭐ Montpellier (FR) | 🚲 (2×1,000)
◾️Private station-less service to replace public dock-based Vélomagg’
◾️3-year licences, 2 operators for 1,000 ebikes each
◾️Submission deadline Sept 4th, service launch March 2027

🔴 Closed

Bodrum (TR) | 🚲 (1×300)
◾️Innova wins the tender
◾️300 ebikes expected

Pamplona (ES) | 🚲 (1×500)
◾️nextbike wins the tender
◾️500 ebikes will be available across 50 stations
◾️Phased expansion to neighbouring municipalities

Rhine-Neckar region (DE) | 🚲 (1×4,300)
◾️nextbike carries on to operate VRNrad
◾️1,000 ebikes join the 3,300 bike fleet

⭐ Turin (IT) | 🛴 & 🚲
◾️Dott wins the 3-year multimodal licence
◾️2,290 scooters, 1,135 ebikes and 485 bikes will be available
◾️The service will cover 15 municipalities

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CITY UPDATES 🌐

Budapest (HU) | Helmets will become mandatory for private scooters following BKK decision.

Lisbon (PT) | GIRA bikes-share suffers from the losses due to vandalism.

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INDUSTRY NEWS 🗞️

⭐ Forest will introduce specific insurance after crash victims left without compensation.
Insurance is now a real competitive advantage for operators.

⭐ NABSA has released its 2025 State of the Industry Report for North America.
The reference report for North America shows a stable growth to 237 million trips.

⭐ Cooltra announces its will to bid to the upcoming bike-share tender in Rome and Milan (IT).
Cooltra bets on its moped presence in Rome and Milan to win its first major metropolitan bike-share contract.

Donkey Republic delivers first positive H1 EBIT in company history.

Lime has published its first quarterly results as a public company.

Marti scales ride-hailing to 30 Turkish cities.

Swiss operator Publibike has been acquired by VisionEdgeOne.

Ryde joins the Shared Micromobility Alliance.