Electric scooters are widespread in Spanish cities, but geographer and mobility advisor Màrius Navazo says they are not taking cars off the road. Instead, they are pulling people away from walking and cycling, as well as public transport, the modes that keep cities healthy and sustainable.
Navazo’s report for Zikloteka in Gipuzkoa argues that most scooter riders previously walked or cycled, while few were former drivers. Car traffic so stays the same, while daily physical activity drops. "If you ask me whether cities should bet on electric scooters for sustainable mobility, my answer is that we should first bet on bicycles," Navazo says.
From October 1, 2026, Spain will require all electric scooter users to wear helmets and set a minimum riding age of 15. Riders will also have to wear reflective or illuminated gear at night. Non-compliance carries a €200 fine.
The green image of scooters does not hold up. The report points to a basic problem: scooters let people travel at up to 25 km/h, like bikes, but without physical effort. That gap between speed and effort means less exercise. Data from Barcelona shows scooter users are among the least active commuters. In terms of health, scooters are closer to cars than to bikes.
Safety is another concern. Headlines often focus on scooter-pedestrian crashes, but Navazo’s research finds that 93% of scooter accidents involve only the rider, and most are minor. Still, the risks are real: in Spain, one in three people hurt in a scooter accident ends up in intensive care because of head injuries. Scooters are unstable. Their high center of gravity and narrow platforms make them tricky to control, while small wheels, fast starts and poor maneuverability add to the danger.
Rules are patchy. National law keeps scooters off sidewalks, but local governments decide where they can go, including pedestrian-priority zones and streets with speed limits ranging from 30 to 50 km/h. Navazo says cars pose the real threat to people on foot. "The discussion often pits weak modes of transport against each other, as if they’re fighting for scraps. For safer, more sustainable cities, it’s the car that needs to give up space," he says.
Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) reported 7,423 injury accidents involving electric scooters in 2024, with 22 fatalities and 524 hospitalizations. Despite the increase, DGT data for 2025 show that electric scooters remain less deadly than bicycles: 21 scooter user deaths compared with 29 among cyclists.
Navazo wants a strict speed limit of 10 km/h for scooters and bikes in crowded city areas. He acknowledges that enforcing it would be difficult. The bigger challenge, he says, is changing attitudes: people need to respect pedestrians and move more slowly through city streets, with care.
Navazo’s vision puts pedestrians first. He calls it an "inverted mobility pyramid." Cities should feel like shared homes, he says, where walking is the default and the most protected way to get around. "When you leave your house, the city should feel like a public home, not a place full of machines that can hurt you," he says. All vehicle rules, including those for scooters, should focus on people walking.
Scooters are not all bad for the environment. The report acknowledges that replacing a car trip with a scooter ride cuts emissions. But because most scooter users are not former drivers, the effect is small. The bigger problem is that scooters chip away at the culture of active mobility cities need.
The debate in Spain goes beyond scooters. The country’s stance on Chinese investment in electric car factories, as reported earlier, shows how mobility choices are shaping the future of city life and industry.
Navazo’s findings suggest that scooters’ spread could undermine efforts to create healthy, people-focused cities. He argues that planners seeking greener, healthier streets should back active travel, with walking and cycling, and public transport, ahead of the latest gadget on two wheels.
