The electric scooter rental company Tier has officially ended its operations in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The company withdrew all of its electric scooters from the streets completely on 14th December, following its formal resignation submitted to the city council in November.
This move has effectively halved the scooter rental service available in the city, leaving Dott as the sole provider.
Tier’s departure is tied to its global merger with Dott, the other concessionaire in Santa Cruz. In the last few days, Tier had been encouraging its users to transition to Dott’s application, signalling a shift in focus within the shared micromobility sector.
Documents show that Tier filed its resignation on 13th November, shortly after the 1st October announcement of the merger. The Santa Cruz city council authorised the termination of Tier’s services, stipulating that all 646 of its scooters be removed from public spaces by 14th December.
Tier complied with the terms of its concession, retrieving its vehicles promptly and releasing a €32,300 bond from the council. Failure to meet these conditions would have resulted in the city assuming removal responsibilities at Tier's expense.
Tier’s withdrawal has reduced the total number of rental scooters in the city to 646, all now provided by Dott. This leaves Santa Cruz operating at half its previous capacity of 1,292 scooters. Speaking to Atlántico Hoy, Evelyn Alonso, the Councillor for Mobility, stated, “For now, we will continue with half the scooters, all from Dott. There are no immediate plans to bring in more, unless demand justifies it.”
Alonso confirmed that the city is monitoring scooter demand closely and could authorise a new provider if necessary. The next company in line from the February 2024 concession process could be considered to fill the gap. It is worth noting that eight companies initially applied for the concession, but Tier and Dott were selected after the previous operator, LINK, declared global bankruptcy.
The Tier-Dott Merger
On 1st October, Tier and Dott finalised a financial transaction to merge their operations, as predicted earlier in the year. The combined company, with annual revenues of €250 million and over 125 million rides across 20 countries, has become Europe’s leading micromobility provider.
According to the merger announcement, Tier and Dott’s teams and services will gradually integrate, enabling users to access vehicles from both providers through their respective apps, with plans for greater convergence in the future.
This merger highlights the consolidation trend in the micromobility sector, as companies streamline operations to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving market. For Santa Cruz, this change leaves the city with fewer scooters but maintains an operator capable of meeting current demand.
