Copenhagen Municipality has logged a record 5,187 complaints about badly parked rental bicycles and e-scooters in the first nine months of 2026, renewing calls for national rules limiting how many bikes may operate in the city.
According to reporting by DR, the complaints concern rental bicycles and e-scooters left outside designated parking, including on pavements. The figure is more than eight times higher than when the municipality opened its complaints channel in 2022.
Residents file the reports through the municipal app Giv et Praj. Åge Staghøj, chair of the Indre By local committee, told DR he has complained several times. Per his account, the stress comes from having to move several rental bikes to free his own.
Staghøj said individual complaints do work, but the problem returns within days. He also noted that most residents do not know the app exists. In his view, there are simply too many bicycles in the city.
When bikes are parked incorrectly, the municipality has two options. It can remove them itself and send the bill to the operator, or pass the complaint on to the company for removal.
Municipality asks for a law change
Line Barfod, Copenhagen’s mayor for climate, environment and technology, said the volume of complaints does not surprise her. In July 2026 she asked the Transport Ministry for a law change giving the city power over rental bike numbers. As she told DR, the request remains high on the municipality’s list.
Barfod said Copenhagen needs authority from Christiansborg to decide how many rental bikes may operate and where. She noted that such rules already exist for e-scooters and work well. Handling the problem with municipal staff alone would be very expensive, she said.
Several operators also want regulation. Hans Bjørn Waagø, global operations director at Voi, told DR the company accepts part of the responsibility for the lack of control. He suggested municipalities put contracts out to tender, for example three operators with 4,000 bicycles each.
Donkey Republic’s Nordic regional manager, Christian Bergmann Mølgaard, wants the Folketinget to allow both tougher sanctions and caps on numbers. He proposed up to 10,000 fewer rental bicycles and said his company is willing to give up some of its fleet if requirements apply equally.
A spokesperson for Lime said the company works with Copenhagen Municipality on handling reports and improving parking behavior. As stated by the spokesperson, users must park responsibly, photograph the bike at the end of a trip, and may receive warnings or fines.
Signe Munk, minister for cities, rural districts and transport, declined an interview with DR but responded in writing. She stated that bikes should not block others when not rented, and that municipalities can already remove them and bill the owner.
The complaint total covers January through September 2026. DR reported the figures on September 26, alongside a map showing where the vehicles accumulate most in Copenhagen.
