Electric scooter sharing app Flow to be available in Belgrade in 2020

Romanian electric scooter sharing app Flow will be offered in Belgrade, Serbia in 2020, according to Bogdan Enoiu, managing director of marketing communications agency McCann Erickson Romania and manager of the Flow business, the Romanian media reports.

Flow also plans expansion to Croatia and Israel, Enoiu told Profit.ro.

The Flow app, whose main competition in Bucharest, Romania is the U.S. electric scooter rental giant Lime, is in the process of integrating the eGo electric car sharing service. Flow (e-scooters) is currently available in Bucharest, where e-scooter rentals are also offered by startup Wolf-E, as well as in Cluj-Napoca, while eGo (electric cars) is available in Bucharest, Constanta, and Timisoara.

Flow currently operates 500 electric scooters, while it will integrate around 80 electric cars along with the eGo service.

Serbia working on new e-scooter riding rules

Work is under way in Serbia on a new traffic safety bill to regulate electric scooter riding. The new rules are expected to take effect in 2020.

The need to regulate this type of micromobility arose as e-scooters rose in popularity practically overnight in Serbia. In Belgrade alone, 35,000 e-scooters were sold in a matter of months earlier this year.

Until the new law is passed, experts advise caution and wearing helmets while riding e-scooters. They also advise not taking children for the ride or at least making sure children wear helmets when riding.

A number of European countries have imposed such restrictions. Paris, for example, has limited the number of scooters on its streets. Belgium allows parking e-scooters in strictly designated spaces, while Germany and the Netherlands have tightened the maximum speed and age rules.