SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has postponed giving out licenses to firms seeking to operate sharing services for motorised personal mobility devices (PMDs) here, while it steps up enforcement against reckless riding and accidents involving PMDs.

In February, 14 companies had submitted applications to operate personal mobility device (PMD) sharing services under sandbox licences here.

The firms vying for the LTA licence include local start-ups Telepod and Neuron Mobility and American e-scooter firm Lime. Mobike Singapore had also applied for licence, before announcing that it would exit Singapore in March.

The application results were supposed to be announced in the second quarter of this year, but has been delayed another three months.

In an email to the applicants seen by TODAY, LTA said that the results will be delayed till the third quarter of the year.

“We regret to inform you that the results of the PMD-sharing licence will be delayed, as LTA requires more time to review imposing additional requirements on licensees to ensure the safety of users and the general public,” the LTA stated in the email.

“This is in light of recent incidents of reckless riding and accidents involving PMDs.”

The authority added that it is stepping up enforcement to address the situation.

In 2017 and 2018, there were 228 reported accidents involving PMDs on public paths, 196 of them resulting in injury. One mishap left a rider dead and 32 other accidents resulted in major injuries, such as concussions and fractures.

The LTA also impounded 10 PMDs last Saturday night, and another nine from Monday to Wednesday, in its latest enforcement operations.

Some applicants contacted by TODAY confirmed the delay.  

Mr Htay Aung, 28, founder of Anywheel, said that while the decision by LTA to delay handing out licences had put a brake on some preparations by the firm, he felt that it was necessary.

“Definitely it derails our plans, because we were all prepared. We had expected the announcements sometime this or next month, and we already had shipped some of our e-scooters to Singapore,” said Mr Htay.

But he said that he “understood” why LTA held back its decision.

“You’re looking at the first ever PMD-sharing licences being offered, where thousands of shared PMDs could be deployed to users. LTA is trying to make PMD-sharing safer.

“Currently some irresponsible users have been causing accidents, so if you do not ensure that users can use the devices safely, the public’s displeasure against the devices might increase and users might completely stop using PMDs, and our business model would backfire,” he said.

Another applicant, Beam, told TODAY that while it was “disappointed” in the delay, the firm supports LTA’s desire to create a safe and suitable environment for PMD riders and all pedestrians in Singapore.

Telepod’s chief operating officer Louis Goh echoed the sentiment, saying that while the firm has been eagerly looking forward to the PMD-sharing license since early last year, it respects LTA’s decision.

“While further delays are undesirable since licensing was promised to be awarded around May 2019, we respect LTA's decision and will continue work closely with them on the safety education of PMD usage,” he added.

In its email, the LTA also reminded the applicants that operations on public land without a licence is illegal, and operators should refrain from operating on private land if there is a high risk of the shared devices spilling over to public land.

“LTA will not hesitate to take enforcement action should any shared PMDs found hireable at public places. Such contraventions will be considered in the evaluation of your licence application,” said the authority.

Members of Parliament (MPs) have raised questions about the safety of these devices earlier this month.

In response, Senior Minister of State for Transport, Dr Lam Pin Min had said that while the Government was mindful of the safety concerns, the solution was “not to ban them, but to cultivate the right culture where users ride safely and responsibly, and only at the allowed places”.

Last week, Dr Lam said that the Government is working with the town councils to ban PMDs from accident-prone areas within housing estates.