Singapore bans e-scooters on sidewalks

Singapore rolls out toughest measure yet to address public safety

The ban, effective today, comes after a string of injuries and at least one death from collisions with pedestrians.

SINGAPORE: Electric scooters will be banned from footpaths from today, in the latest and toughest measure yet to address public safety concerns surrounding their use.

Those caught flouting the rules can be fined up to S$2,000 (RM6,100) and/or jailed for up to three months if convicted.

From now until the end of the year, the authorities will mainly issue warnings to errant riders, but a zero-tolerance approach will be taken from next year.

The ban means that e-scooters will be confined to 440km of cycling paths islandwide, instead of the 5,500km of footpaths riders could use before.

Bicycles and personal mobility aids such as motorised wheelchairs will continue to be allowed on footpaths, cycling paths and park connectors.

But the ban will progressively be extended to other motorised personal mobility devices (PMDs) in the first quarter of next year, including hoverboards and unicycles.

Announcing the tougher stance, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said yesterday: “Over the last two years, we put in great efforts to promote the safe use of motorised personal mobility devices.

“Despite significant efforts, we continue to encounter errant riders who use non-compliant devices and ride dangerously.”

Lam made the announcement in a statement responding to questions from five MPs, including Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir), who asked about the Transport Ministry’s plans to improve safety levels around the use of PMDs.

Devices classified as PMDs include e-scooters, hoverboards and unicycles.

But e-scooters have been the main subject of scrutiny amid safety concerns around their usage.

There are 100,000 registered e-scooters in Singapore.

In September, a 65-year-old cyclist, Ong Bee Eng, died in hospital after she was seriously injured in an e-scooter accident in Bedok.

A 20-year-old man was arrested after the accident and police said they are investigating the case as one of causing death by a rash act.

Lam said in parliament that the number of accidents involving motorised e-scooters continue to rise, adding that several riders have also died.

He noted that calls for a total ban on PMD usage have been getting louder as more accidents occur.

The authorities catch about 370 offenders per month for offences involving active mobility devices such as e-scooters and power-assisted bicycles.

“We expected the co-sharing of footpaths to be challenging but we were hopeful that with public education, PMD users would be gracious and responsible,” said Lam.

“Unfortunately, this was not so.” In the past year, MPs and the public have repeatedly raised concerns about the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of some e-scooter riders.

Some have also asked for e-scooters to be banned from footpaths.

Currently, PMDs can be used only on shared paths (at up to 25 kph) and footpaths (10 kph).

They are not allowed on roads. The number of accidents involving PMDs has gone up with the increase in users.

There were 228 reported accidents involving PMDs on public paths in 2017 and last year, with 196 resulting in injuries.

Lam noted that the move was not a complete ban on e-scooters.