The traffic mayor in Stockholm Daniel Helldén announced last week that the city will not make a decision on a tender process for shared e-scooters before the summer. This goes against the promise that the city of Stockholm gave the industry in December last year.

Now when the decision about a tender process has been postponed it is highly uncertain if the people living and travelling in different parts of Stockholm will have better access to shared e-scooters next year. A service that can both replace car trips and be a complement to public transport.

Of course it is hard for us, the operators, to conduct long term business operations together with the public if the conditions are changed with very short notice. Looking at the bigger picture this is about Stockholm’s modal shift and how fast the city will be able to reach its environmental goals. Without a decision on a tender, the city of Stockholm will be left behind all other big cities in Europe that are investing in shared micromobility which means more space for the inhabitants, recreation and greenery and less space for cars and fossil-fueled transports.

Close to 90 cities and towns have already done a tender for shared e-scooters and many of the bigger cities in Europe have announced that they will do a tender for e-scooters this year (for many of these cities this will be the second time). These are, among others, Madrid, London, Paris and Rome. In Oslo and all other major cities in Norway, the tender processes were just finalised, while Stockholm is lagging behind.

Why wait with a tender when we since 1 February this year have had really poor regulations in Stockholm? The current regulation is similar to the regulations that Oslo earlier this year deemed as unsatisfactory for both the municipalities, the users and the micromobility industry as a whole, which lead to a tender. A regulation that means that users that live, study or work outside the city centre have got significantly worse access to micromobility than before. Further, this inhibits innovation, the possibility to invest in long term solutions and cities’ possibility to set up requirements.

Stockholm should invest more in sustainable travelling and long term operators by going forward and carrying through a tender process that starts during autumn 2022 as previously stated. The city has a possibility of being a leader when it comes to micromobility and accelerate the conversion to a more green and transport efficient city. During last year there were 26 million trips made and close to 48 million kilometres travelled with shared e-scooters in Sweden which shows a request for more sustainable mobility.

Us operators are now, together with multiple cities in Europe, building the infrastructure that contributes to a more sustainable way of travelling, in combination with public transport. We have to rethink the mobility in Stockholm for us to be able to reach our environmental goals. But now it looks like Stockholm is slowing down in the conversion of transport compared to many other cities in Europe.

This is why we want to urge the city of Stockholm to fulfil its promise to make a decision on doing a tender of shared micromobility before summer, and not postpone this decision to the future. Let us hold the previously stated timeframe, take responsibility and not postpone a decision until after the election.

Tina Ghasemi Liljekvist,
Senior Public Policy Manager Sweden, Voi technology

Dan Nerén,
Senior Public Policy Manager Nordics, TIER Mobility

Tina Ghasemi Liljekvist, Policychef Sverige, Voi

Dan Nerén, Policychef Norden, Tier