Court backs Florence decision: e-scooter sharing to stop on 1 April

The Regional Administrative Court of Tuscany (Tar Toscana) has rejected an urgent request to suspend Florence’s decision to stop electric scooter-sharing services in the city from 1 April 2026.

The appeal had been filed by Bird, one of the main operators in Florence and an international company active in micromobility. The court’s decision concerns only the temporary suspension of the measure, not the final ruling on the substance of the case.

The city council approved the ban in November, linking it to changes in national legislation and to ongoing management problems in the historic centre and other areas of Florence.

Why Florence decided to stop e-scooter sharing

The decision by the Municipality of Florence, known locally as Palazzo Vecchio, followed amendments to Italy’s Highway Code introducing stricter rules for electric scooters. Among them is a mandatory helmet requirement.

According to the city administration, the dockless nature of the sharing service makes it difficult to ensure compliance with the new rules. Despite checks by the municipal police, officials argued that there is a risk of systematic violations of the Highway Code, creating safety concerns both for road users and pedestrians.

The city also cited repeated problems linked to user behaviour, including scooters parked improperly on pavements and in public squares, riding against traffic, use on pavements and in pedestrian areas, and circulation in lanes reserved for buses and taxis.

Legal challenge will continue

The company announced in late January 2026 that it had filed an appeal with the administrative court, arguing that the municipal decision contains significant inconsistencies and errors in the way the service was classified.

Following the Tar’s rejection of the request to suspend the measure, the company said that the ruling does not address the legal merits of the case. It stated that it will continue the legal proceedings to challenge what it considers a disproportionate and unjustified ban.

Bird also underlined that, in recent years, it has operated in coordination with the city, progressively adapting the service to municipal requirements and investing in safety measures, monitoring and a station-based system. The company said that alternative regulatory solutions to a total ban were possible.

What happens next

Unless the decision is overturned in the full hearing on the merits, shared electric scooters will stop operating in Florence from 1 April 2026.

For residents and visitors, this means that scooter-sharing apps currently active in the city will no longer allow rentals within the municipal area after that date. Privately owned electric scooters will still be permitted, subject to national rules, including the helmet obligation.

The timeline for the court’s final decision on the case has not yet been made public.

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