E-scooter owners, take note.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min today (7 Mar) announced at the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate that all e-scooter owners will soon have to register their scooters with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) from the second half of 2018.
Registering e-scooters will help deter reckless behaviour, accord more responsibility to the users, and facilitate enforcement officers in tracking down errant users.
Identification stickers would need to be pasted prominently on the e-scooters by then.
Owners will also have to ensure that their e-scooters don’t exceed 20kg in weight, are not wider than 700mm, and have a maximum speed of 25km/h.
Those who own electric hover board and unicycles won’t need to adhere to the new rules due to their “less widespread use and their lower speeds”.
The process of registering e-scooters will be “kept as simple and low-cost as possible”.
Increasingly Stricter Rules For E-Scooters
There are an estimated 30,000 to 100,000 e-scooters in Singapore.
However, they have gotten a very bad rep in recent times due to errant users and serious accidents.
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed that there were about 90 accidents in the first half of 2017 involving electric bicycles and personal mobility devices like e-scooters.
In a bid to prevent more accidents from happening, LTA banned the use of e-scooters and hoverboards on roads and expressways earlier in January this year.
Other than registration, Dr Lam also mentioned that the Active Mobility Advisory Panel will also take a deeper look at issues like the speed limit on footpaths, and the need for an insurance and compensation framework.
It will publish its recommendations by the end of the year.