In less than two years, the two companies that offer shared electric scooters in the city of São Paulo suspended the accounts of more than 2,500 users due to inappropriate use of the vehicles.
Since 2025, Whoosh has blocked more than 2,000 users for misusing vehicles in the city. In the same period, around 500 customers were suspended by Jet, the other company authorized to offer the service in the capital of São Paulo.
The behaviors that led to the blockades range from vandalism to actions considered life-threatening and that fail to comply with the rules of the National Traffic Council (Contran). The main occurrences are:
Carpooling (two people on the same scooter);
Release for use by minors;
Parking outside the designated areas.
In Brazil, the number of blockages reaches 17 thousand by the two companies consulted by TV Globo. The suspensions correspond to around 1% of national platform users.
Blocked users can also contact the platforms' support for clarification or account analysis.
"Blocks are one of the measures adopted when we identify behaviors that violate the rules of use, but security work begins before that. The idea is to act on different fronts, combining monitoring, reporting channels and education to reduce risk situations", said Cadu Souza, director of operations at Whoosh.
Supervision and regulation
In Brazil, electric scooters arrived like pawns on a board without a manual: the game began, but the rules were not defined. The biggest risk is traffic accidents.
The vehicles arrived in the capital of São Paulo seven years ago, which led the São Paulo City Council to start a race to regulate and inspect electric scooters in 2019.
The shared service weakened during the pandemic and returned to the debate with Contran Resolution No. 996, of 2023, which regulated the traffic of mopeds, electric bicycles and self-propelled vehicles (individual mobility equipment with a motor, such as scooters). The text delegated supervision of the activity to municipal bodies.
"The scenario between municipalities is still very unequal: some cities have advanced, while others have not yet structured local rules and effective inspection mechanisms. The educational stage is important, especially in the implementation of new rules, but it needs to be followed by inspection. In road safety, we cannot expect serious accidents to dictate the pace of regulation", says Paulo Guimarães, CEO of the National Road Safety Observatory (ONSV).
In the same year, São Paulo City Hall created a working group with the Municipal Secretariat of Urban Mobility and Transport to develop municipal regulations and inspection. After legal disputes and discontinuity of operations, scooter rentals returned to the streets in December 2024.
This year, the Traffic Engineering Company (CET) states that it has been working in an educational manner, installing signposts, informative banners and speed measuring panels, including in Faria Lima.
In August, the city hall defined new rules, but inspection was scheduled for October 12th. In a note to Bom dia Sábado, the organization did not detail how it will monitor use:
"The definition of parameters to monitor compliance with the new standards is in the planning phase, within the deadline established by ORDINANCE SMT.SEMTRA No. 025, published on August 26."
The new rules also apply to electric bicycles. In São Paulo, there are around 450 Itaú shared bikes in circulation, authorized by the city hall.
Fleet doubled
Whoosh made 1,000 scooters available in the first half of 2025 — a number that jumped to 3,000 this year. Jet offered 3,000 scooters last year and currently has 5,000. In other words, when the companies are added, the fleet in the city went from 4,000 to 8,000 in less than two years.
The infrastructure to accommodate vehicles has also expanded. Jet more than doubled parking spots, from 600 to 1,300, in 2026. Whoosh offers 420 parking lots spread across the city. In general, locations are strategically chosen by companies so that scooters are options among public transport.
Companies show that, analyzing users' usage pattern data, scooters are a micro mobility alternative to and from work:
Average travel of 2.5 kilometers;
High volume of rides on weekdays;
Peak runs at the beginning and end of the day.
Both companies have plans to expand their fleet and coverage area in the city of São Paulo.
