The future of e-scooters in Lisbon will be decided through a municipal referendum
The ACP has already gathered the more than 5,000 signatures required to put a referendum on the future of shared electric scooters in Lisbon to a vote.
The Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP) announced it had collected 20,000 valid signatures to initiate a municipal referendum on whether to continue allowing shared electric scooters in Lisbon. This number far exceeds the 5,000 signatures needed to proceed with such a popular initiative.
The signature collection began at the start of last month. To be counted as valid, signatures had to come from citizens over 18 years old registered in Lisbon municipality.
The initiative aims to let Lisbon’s voters themselves decide on the continuation of this service in the city’s public spaces. As previously reported, ACP has raised concerns regarding an increase in accidents involving users, pedestrians, and other vehicles, improper occupation of sidewalks, obstacles to traffic flow, accessibility issues, and a lack of oversight.
"It’s a divisive issue—for some, shared electric scooters are a problem, while for others they’re a solution. We want Lisbon residents to decide how to move around the streets of Lisbon," the club stated at the time.
What’s next?
Once the collection and verification of signatures are complete, ACP will formally submit the initiative to the Lisbon Municipal Assembly.
The process involves an initial check of legal requirements by the president of the Municipal Assembly. This is followed by analysis by a committee, which has 15 days to review it. After this stage, the proposal will be put up for voting in plenary session of the Municipal Assembly. As it is a popular initiative, the decision should be made within 30 days of its receipt, in principle.
If holding a referendum is approved, the decision still must be sent to the Constitutional Court, which will verify its constitutionality and legality. The court generally has 25 days to issue a ruling.
Only after completing these steps and obtaining a favorable decision can the process move forward to hold a referendum. At that time, voters in Lisbon will be called to decide on the continuation of shared electric scooters in the city.
About 6000 Scooters
According to ACP, there are currently around 6000 shared electric scooters in use on public roads in Lisbon. The Portuguese capital thus becomes yet another city considering ending this mode of transportation, but it is not the first in Portugal. At the beginning of this month, Braga permanently removed shared electric scooters from public spaces.
According to João Rodrigues, mayor of the City Council of Braga, “shared e-scooters are more of a problem than an advantage for the city” and “they make life harder for Braga residents rather than helping them.” This year alone, more than 40 accidents involving e-scooters have been recorded, many of which involved people under 18 years old, according to the mayor.