L’Hospitalet Destroys Seized Tampered E-Scooters, 728 Taken in 2026
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat now destroys the tampered e-scooters its police seize. Seizures hit 728 from January to October, 114% more than in all of 2025.
The Ajuntament de L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (the city council) is destroying the modified electric scooters its local police take off the street. Owners do not get them back. Mayor David Quirós announced the policy in a post on his social media accounts, where he also gave this year’s seizure figures.
The Guardia Urbana (the city’s municipal police) seized 728 scooters between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31. That is already 114% more than the 340 it took in the whole of 2025, and November and December are still to be counted.
Why the city destroys the scooters
According to Quirós, many of the personal mobility vehicles stopped by officers had been tampered with so they could go faster than the rules allow. He said these machines put people walking on the pavement at risk. “Los patinetes que requisamos no vuelven a la calle. Se destruyen,” the mayor wrote, which translates as “the scooters we seize do not go back on the street. They are destroyed.”
The town hall describes the approach as zero tolerance for modified vehicles. In the city government’s account, once a seized scooter reaches the municipal pound, its life on public roads is over. The measure is meant to protect road safety in the city’s neighborhoods, according to the council.
A sharp rise in police checks
The figures reflect tougher checks by the Guardia Urbana this year, Metrópoli Abierta reported. In 10 months of 2026, officers have pulled 388 more scooters off the streets than in all of 2025. The council did not say how many of the 728 seized vehicles had been modified, only that a large share of them had.
The mayor framed the policy around pedestrians. He wrote that a tampered scooter will never return to the city’s pavements, because walking safely around the neighborhood is the council’s goal.
What it means for scooter riders in L’Hospitalet
Anyone riding a scooter whose speed has been altered beyond the legal limit risks losing the vehicle for good if stopped by the Guardia Urbana in L’Hospitalet. The policy described by the mayor makes no mention of a way to recover a seized modified scooter.
The announcement did not give details on fines, on how officers check whether a scooter has been modified, or on whether unmodified scooters seized for other reasons are treated the same way. Those points were not disclosed.
What to watch next
The 728 figure covers only January through October. The final count for 2026 will add the seizures from November and December, which the council has not yet published.
Source: Metrópoli Abierta
