A surge of commercial e-scooters left on the streets of Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés has prompted local government to take action due to a lack of licenses and permits for this activity, resulting in the confiscation of the e-scooters and fines for the rental company involved.
According to the information provided in Spanish language news portal for the south of Gran canaria, El Sur Digital GC, the Ayuntamiento de San Bartolomé de Tirajana municipal town hall, which covers Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés, has been facing a situation where a large number of e-scooters for hire have been left on the streets of tourism areas, causing issues with illegal parking and an invasion of public space without any form of prior notification. The local council, particularly the Department of Security led by Jose Carlos Álamo, has taken the matter seriously.
It appears that the municipality has discovered that there are no licenses granted for this type of activity in the area, and it is also not permitted, by local ordinance, to abandon these vehicles in various locations around Maspalomas, in particular for commercial gain. This has led to a response from the local police, who have seized all commercial e-scooters found on public roads that lack the necessary tourism rental activity licenses.
Jose Carlos Álamo
During a recent municipal session, Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez mentioned that over 400 e-scooters had already been removed from public spaces. According to Councilman Álamo, the situation is now more under control, but previously, there were hundreds of abandoned e-scooters left in various places throughout the popular tourist resort area.
The local police have confiscated these e-scooters and are holding them in a municipal space until the rightful owners come forward to pay fines and have the vehicles removed. The rental company responsible for these e-scooters, say the town hall, lacks the necessary activity licenses and permits for using and parking them in public spaces, making their activity “illegal.”
