Braga, Portugal, Aug. 28, 2026 (Lusa) - Bolt will remove its shared scooters from Braga by Tuesday, an official source from the local council told Lusa, following the council's approval of the removal at a meeting two months ago.
«Bolt, the only electric scooter operator currently active in the city, will collect all units from public spaces between 31 August and 1 September, within the timeframe set by the City Council,» reads a response from an official source at the local authority chaired by João Rodrigues (elected by the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition).
On 29 June, Braga City Council approved, by a majority, the suspension of shared scooters in the city, setting a 60-day deadline for the complete removal of the equipment from the municipality.
According to the mayor, the municipality will incur no cost to terminate the contracts.
The exact 60-day removal deadline expired today; Lusa sought clarification from the local authority on whether the deadline was an exact figure or a guide, and the authority is still processing the request.
The council had given the operator 60 days to remove all the scooters, stipulating that once this period had expired, it could proceed with enforcement, with the full costs borne by the company.
The political groups represented on the executive committee approved the resolution on the collaboration agreements for the installation and operation of shared electric scooter schemes, except for the Amar e Servir Braga (ASB) movement, which abstained.
The mayor, João Rodrigues, said he had come to the conclusion that, at present, the scooters «are more of a problem than a benefit for the city» and «complicate people's lives more than anything else».
He emphasised that, this year alone, authorities have recorded more than 40 accidents involving scooters and bicycles, ‘but mainly scooters', involving young people under the age of 18.
He also said that the number of shared scooters in the city has increased exponentially, rising from 100 eight years ago, when the scheme was launched in Braga, to almost 600 today.
In terms of journeys, the figure has also risen substantially, with 32,000 in 2023, 63,000 in 2024 and 144,000 last year.
«There are more and more users; it is a new phenomenon, and we believe there should be a pause, a suspension, so that we can work out what to do,» said João Rodrigues.
The mayor referred to a «constant disregard» for the rules governing the use of scooters and added that the operators have failed to ensure effective mechanisms to control, prevent and mitigate such behaviour.
The proposal, which the council approved in June, cited disturbances to road and pedestrian safety, environmental destruction in municipal public spaces, and the lack of specific municipal regulations to ensure, in the immediate term, that the activity aligns with the local public interest.
The three councillors from the ASB movement abstained, considering that they had not been provided with sufficient statistical data to justify banning scooters, arguing that the issue should be voted on «not on the basis of perceptions or ideas, but rather on a mathematical reality».
Meanwhile, the councillor for the Liberal Initiative, Rui Rocha, said he voted in favour in view of «the council's admission that it is unable to ensure the safe use» of the scooters.
The PS also voted in favour but proposed the creation of a broad-based working group to draft a new set of regulations governing the use of such devices.
Meanwhile, Filipe Aguiar, a councillor for Chega, emphasised that, from now on, «Braga will be a much safer city» and pointed out that the party has been advocating the end of shared scooters since the election campaign.
JE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
