E-scooters still common on footpaths, six weeks after ban

SINGAPORE — It has been more than six weeks since a ban on the riding of electric scooters on footpaths took effect, but riders of these personal mobility devices (PMDs) are still zipping around on footpaths in significant numbers, TODAY has found.

TODAY went to four neighbourhoods around Singapore and found Yishun to have a particularly high number of errant e-scooter riders. In the span of just one hour, 46 e-scooters were spotted on the footpaths along Yishun Avenue 6 and Yishun Avenue 9.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has provided an “advisory period” till the end of the year to allow users to adjust to the rules. During this period, warnings are being given out but LTA will reserve the right to enforce the rules for more serious cases.

But from Jan 1, those caught riding an e-scooter on footpaths can be fined up to S$2,000, jailed up to three months, or both. 

Pedestrians who spoke to TODAY said that since the ban was announced, they have noticed fewer e-scooters on the footpaths in their neighbourhoods but would be happier still if they were gone altogether. 

They also worry that even when penalties are enforced in the new year, there will still be recalcitrant e-scooter riders on footpaths.

A LOOK AT FOUR TOWNS

Between 4.25pm and 5.25pm on Tuesday (Dec 17), TODAY spotted 13 e-scooter riders on footpaths in the area around Bedok Mall and Heartbeat @ Bedok.

On the same day, from 12.35 pm to 1.35pm, 14 e-scooters were spotted flouting the rules along Boon Lay Way and Jurong Gateway Road.

On Wednesday, from 11.45am to 12.45pm, 21 e-scooters could be seen being ridden on footpaths around Punggol Central.

And on Friday, between 11.47am and 12.47pm, TODAY spotted 46 e-scooters on footpaths along Yishun Avenue 6 and Yishun Avenue 9.

NEW YEAR, NEW RULES

Mr Mohd Aszrin, 45, uses his e-scooter for both leisure and making deliveries for Grab Food but is now “training” himself to make deliveries on a bicycle, in anticipation of the enforcement of the penalties.

Mr Aszrin had bought his e-scooter on Nov 4 — the very same day that the footpath ban was announced. 

“Believe me. It was devastating. I was very very sad, very devastated. I couldn’t even believe my ears. I was so happy the day I got my PMD. I was going to make full use of it but later at night when I heard about the ban, I was like, ‘Oh no’,” he said.

“I wanted to cry. It was heartbreaking.”

But while Mr Aszrin is gearing up to switch to a bicycle, another e-scooter user, who only wanted to be known as Ms Jojo, plans to keep scooting around on footpaths even after the full force of the ban takes effect.

The 52-year-old had bought her device just a few days before the ban was announced and is still paying for it in instalments.

Asked if she was worried about the LTA giving her a fine, she said: “How to give a fine? They gave me a licence when I bought it, along with a plate number. I just got it. I paid for it, they gave me the license, I am going to use it. Why must I change?”

WHAT PEDESTRIANS THINK

Indeed, some pedestrians who spoke to TODAY expect that Ms Jojo will not be alone in her defiance.

Toa Payoh resident Alyssa Cher, 20, said she thinks e-scooter users will continue flouting rules even after Jan 1 because “they already spent quite an amount of money on their PMDs”.

“I guess (the ban) might scare some. But there still will be those who still don’t care.”

Mr Damian Lim, 22, however, thinks most, if not all, e-scooter users will respect the ban once the penalties are enforced.

“It’s something that can be easily reported so it’s not as if it’s easy to get away with. If there is any video or CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage, you will get caught.”

In the first month since the ban was announced, the LTA issued a total of 3,444 warnings to riders, it said on Dec 5.

When asked by TODAY about the scores of e-scooters it observed on footpaths this week, LTA reiterated that the advisory period was to give the e-scooter users time to adjust to the ban. It added that from Jan 1, the authorities will take a "a zero-tolerance approach" and "those caught riding an e-scooter on footpaths will face regulatory action".