Mandatory registration for e-scooters from second half of 2018: LTA

SINGAPORE — The authorities are expanding mandatory registration for Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) to include electric scooters, a month after tough new regulations kicked in against unregistered or non-compliant electric bicycles.

Owners of e-scooters have to register from the second half of this year, and paste identification stickers prominently on the devices.

Additionally, they must ensure that the e-scooters meet existing regulations under the Active Mobility Act: A maximum speed of 25km/h on cycling and shared paths in park connectors, a maximum unladen weight not exceeding 20 kg, and a width no more than 700mm.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min unveiled the new regulations in Parliament on Wednesday (March 7) as he announced the Government’s decision to accept the Active Mobility Advisory Panel’s suggestion to introduce mandatory registration for e-scooters.

“Registering e-scooters will help deter reckless behaviour, accord more responsibility to the users, and facilitate enforcement officers in tracking down errant users,” Dr Lam said on Wednesday during the Committee of Supply debate on the Transport Ministry’s budget.

He added that the authorities will “try to keep the process as simple and low-cost as possible”.

The Government also accepted the panel’s suggestion not to require mandatory registration for other types of PMDs such as hoverboards and unicycles, as they are slower and less popular.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it would monitor the adoption of these other types of PMDs and “assess if further measures are needed going forward”.

More details on the registration of the e-scooters would also be released when they are available, LTA added.

It is unclear, for instance, what penalties a user would face for not registering an e-scooter or for using a non-compliant device.

The announcement for mandatory registration of e-scooters came more than a year after a similar requirement was announced for e-bikes. Under new regulations which kicked in from Feb 1 this year, e-bike owners who have not registered their vehicles or continue to use non-compliant bikes could face hefty fines and jail sentences.

Those caught keeping or riding an unregistered e-bike can be fined up to S$2,000 and jailed for up to three months for a first offence. Users of e-bikes without a valid number plate can be fined up to S$1,000 and jailed up to three months on first conviction.

Users or retailers of non-compliant e-bikes may be fined up to S$5,000 and jailed up to three months, for their first offence. The e-bike could also be seized.

Last month, Associate Professor Muhammed Faishal Ibrahim, who heads the Active Mobility Advisory Panel, wrote on Facebook that the panel was “very concerned” about increasing numbers of reckless riding behaviour.

“We cannot allow these errant riders to cause harm and compromise the safety of other path and road users,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, Dr Lam also told Parliament that the advisory panel would be “taking a deeper look” at the existing active mobility regulations. Its recommendations will be published by the end of the year, he added.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in January that there were 110 accidents involving PMDs from January to September last year. The accidents occurred on public paths, road junctions, as well as on roads where PMD users were riding parallel to vehicle traffic illegally.

The LTA will also be working to impose additional safety requirements on motorised PMDs, on the back of an uptick in motorised PMD fire incidents. Last year, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) noted a 340 per cent increase in fire incidents involving e-scooters.

In total, there were 49 fire incidents caused by PMDs, of which a large majority - 40 - were from e-scooters, the SCDF noted.