Skip to main content

Barcelona council introduces tax for bike and moped sharing services

Barcelona City Council has approved a tax which will require bike and moped shared services to pay €75 per vehicle per year to operate. The tax is designed to regulate companies to limit their presence and minimise impact on public space. Licences are obligatory and non-transferable for vehicles, valid for three years, with the option of an additional year. They will be regulated through a ‘decree’ which is expected to be finished by the end of March. A second decree will regulate parking facilities to
March 1, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
4969 Barcelona City Council has approved a tax which will require bike and moped shared services to pay €75 per vehicle per year to operate.


The tax is designed to regulate companies to limit their presence and minimise impact on public space.

Licences are obligatory and non-transferable for vehicles, valid for three years, with the option of an additional year. They will be regulated through a ‘decree’ which is expected to be finished by the end of March.

A second decree will regulate parking facilities to ensure private bike users have enough places in the city. These will be marked in purple.

According to the council, these regulations will allow the issue of 2,650 licences for bikes and 4,639 licences for mopeds, which could potentially double the city’s existing fleet.

Requisites for obtaining licences include:

• Vehicles must be used once they are issued with licences
• Push bikes, electric bikes and electric mopeds must all meet municipal sustainability criteria
• All vehicles must include geo-localisation systems
• Faulty or damaged vehicles must be removed within 24 hours
• Municipal access to data on the use of the system in real time
• All mopeds must be parked according to municipal regulations set out in the by-law on the circulation of pedestrians and vehicles

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a
  • Varying acceptance of tolling in Africa
    January 6, 2016
    Tolling technology is now at an advanced state but governments have a key role in ensuring the success of schemes as is evident in Africa. Shem Oirere reports. According to the African Development Bank, the continent has an estimated $46bn of infrastructure financing deficit. The bank says sub-Saharan Africa requires $93bn annually to meet its infrastructure development needs - but only half of the financing is available.
  • Varying acceptance of tolling in Africa
    January 6, 2016
    Tolling technology is now at an advanced state but governments have a key role in ensuring the success of schemes as is evident in Africa. Shem Oirere reports. According to the African Development Bank, the continent has an estimated $46bn of infrastructure financing deficit. The bank says sub-Saharan Africa requires $93bn annually to meet its infrastructure development needs - but only half of the financing is available.
  • Ford Mobility: analytics aids transport proactivity
    April 2, 2020
    Ford Mobility has demonstrated how data analytics can help implement London's transport strategy in areas such as traffic re-timing and in eliminating all road fatalities (Vision Zero) by 2041.