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Reuters
Reuters
Business

Spanish capital bans three electric scooter operators

A man rides an electric scooter in Madrid, Spain, December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - Madrid's city hall on Tuesday ordered three operators to remove their electric scooters from the streets of the Spanish capital within 72 hours, saying they had breached its regulations.

The municipality said in a statement that VOI, WIND and Lime had failed to comply with rules that determine which areas the scooters are allowed to operate in.

"None of the three companies had properly fixed in their app the areas where their customers can start and finish the trips," the statement said.

A man rides a Lime-S, dock-free electric scooter, in Madrid, Spain, December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Susana Vera

The Spanish capital does not allow electric scooters in pedestrian areas or on roads where the speed limit is 50 kilometers an hour or more.

VOI said it was working closely with the administration to meet the rules, adding it was confident it would soon be allowed back on the streets of Madrid.

WIND and Lime, which counts Uber [UBER.UL] and Google-owner Alphabet among its investors, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Madrid's regulations echo laws in other European cities trying to cope with the sudden influx of electric scooters, which have raised concern over the risks they can pose to pedestrians.

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Mark Potter)

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