In a meeting, the executive approved a proposal from the Socialist Party (PS) that foresees preparing this study to "collect and systematise data on accidents" associated with this mode of transport and to "identify good practices and formulate recommendations to strengthen safety."

The Socialist proposal followed the death of a 25-year-old woman on Saturday in an accident with an electric scooter, and it was approved after the council held a minute of silence and gave condolences to the victim's family.

"The proposal presented seems reasonable and pertinent to me (...). In fact, a debate is needed around the use of soft modes of transport, which present advantages, but the safety of citizens and users takes precedence," stated the Mayor of Porto.

Pedro Duarte said, “The benefits of easy transport should not risk anyone’s safety.”

The councillor elected by Chega, Miguel Corte Real, also highlighted the “truly impactful” nature of the proposal: “We need to study new forms of soft mobility (…), but we let ourselves be dazzled by how pleasant it would be if we all rode scooters,” he said.

Miguel Corte Real emphasised the need to regulate electric scooter use, arguing that "where there are no rules and no planning, there is always chaos." Key recommendations from the study may include establishing clear rules for scooter use, defining dedicated areas, and setting safety standards.

In its proposal, the Socialist Party (PS) emphasises that “the use of electric scooters has seen significant growth in recent years (...). However, their use is not without risks, being associated with a growing number of road accidents, some with serious consequences for the life and physical integrity of users and third parties.”

According to the PS, “the true extent of these accidents is not fully known,” and the available data from the security forces is incomplete, as it only reflects incidents in which these entities intervened.

Even so, they show a marked increase in the number of accidents over the last few years, particularly in the Porto district.

Hospital data also proves insufficient, as many incidents are not specifically classified as resulting from the use of scooters,” it reads.

Therefore, the municipality wants to identify “good practices and formulate recommendations to strengthen safety.”

According to the approved proposal, the study should involve “higher education institutions and research centres working in the areas of mobility, engineering, public health and road safety, security forces, units of the National Health Service and other health institutions, the National Road Safety Authority, and shared mobility operators present in the city.”