<![CDATA[Singapore bans electric scooters from footpaths after spate of accidents]>
Singapore announced on Monday it was banning all electric scooters from footpaths, following a rise in the number of accidents involving the devices.
The ban, which begins from Tuesday, will confine riders to 440km of cycling paths, down from the 5,500km of footpaths they could use previously.
Transport experts welcomed the move, saying the government had run out of patience with the problems caused by the scooters, often referred to as personal mobility devices (PMDs). But some retailers said they could go bust and urged the government to reconsider.
The ban follows an increase in the number of riders caught using machines that do not comply with government regulations.
"We catch an average of about 350 offenders per month. The number of accidents involving motorised PMDs continues to rise," said Lam Pin Min, Singapore's senior minister of state for transport.
The city state has been promoting the safe use of PMDs " an umbrella term for motorised scooters, hoverboards and unicycles " and the devices are popular with many Singaporeans who use them for the last mile of their commutes. The footpath ban announced on Monday will apply only to scooters, not hoverboards or unicycles.
A couple ride on an e-scooter along Marina Bay in Singapore. Photo: AFP alt=A couple ride on an e-scooter along Marina Bay in Singapore. Photo: AFP
The government brought in stricter rules in August, introducing a new standard for electrical and mechanical components and requiring riders to register their devices. However, these appear to have had limited success in stemming the rising number of accidents.
In a well-publicised incident last month, a 65-year-old cyclist died after a collision with a PMD that did not meet the government's standards.
Singapore's Tan Tock Seng Hospital has reportedly seen a 68 per cent surge in PMD-related accidents over the past two years and nine months.
Lam said that as more accidents occur, "the calls for a total ban on PMD usage get louder".
"We expected the co-sharing of footpaths to be challenging but were hopeful that with public education, PMD users would be gracious and responsible," he said. "Unfortunately, this was not so."
Lam said a "zero-tolerance" approach would be adopted from 2020, with riders who do not comply with the rules facing fines of up to S$2,000 (US$1,470) and/or jail terms of up to three months.
An "advisory period" would be in place until then to allow users to adjust, he said. During this period errant riders would receive warnings.
Lam said less than 30 per cent of drivers with the food delivery companies Deliveroo and FoodPanda used e-scooters, adding that Singapore's transport authority would help affected firms to switch to motorcycles or bicycles.
But other companies, including Grab, may be worse affected.
A Grab spokesperson said "more than one in three" of its GrabFood deliverymen relied on e-scooters and would now have to consider other options "which may not be readily available to them". The company said it hoped to discuss with the government whether deliverymen who had "displayed responsible riding behaviours" could be exempt "under certain conditions for delivery". The company also said it would suspend its PMD sharing service, GrabWheels, "progressively" from November 5.
Singapore's move follows an announcement by France last week that it was banning e-scooters from its pavements following a spate of accidents.
Singaporean transport researcher Walter Theseira said the Lion City's move was "reasonable" as enforcement and education efforts had not worked.
He said there was a small group of "reckless, hard core riders" who were resistant to the government efforts and that they had turned public opinion against all PMD users.
"[The government] has to make a decision because the public fear is too significant and there is a valid point there because pedestrians have a right to be free from fear," said Theseira, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
PMDs " an umbrella term for motorised scooters, hoverboards and unicycles " are popular with many Singaporeans who use them for the last mile of their commutes. Photo: AP alt=PMDs " an umbrella term for motorised scooters, hoverboards and unicycles " are popular with many Singaporeans who use them for the last mile of their commutes. Photo: AP
Transport economist Park Byung Joon said it was obvious that what was "almost an experiment" to have allowed motorised wheels on footpaths had not worked well.
"In my opinion, PMDs should not have been allowed on footpaths in the first place," he said.
But the ban had its critics, too.
Jay Jin, general manager of Kernel Scooter, feared sales would take a hit. He expected to lose "hundreds of thousands" of dollars as he had invested in new models of e-scooters yet to be launched. He urged the government to review the ban.
"It will not merely hurt our sales, but also potentially the livelihood of those using [PMDs] to earn a living. Many PMD retailers may have to end their businesses due to this new regulation," Jin said.
Another retailer, Chew Boon Hur, said 90 per cent of his sales came from e-scooter sales, with mobility scooters and electric bicycles making up the rest.
Chew, the general manager of Mobot, said the move was "too harsh and sudden", and that authorities should consider other means to allay pedestrians' fears. He suggested bringing in a minimum age for riders or reducing the speed limit on footpaths.
The transport researcher Theseira warned the ban's effectiveness might prove limited, if it prompted PMD riders to switch to other modes of transport such as bicycles, power-assisted bicycles or motorcycles.
"There is a concern, then, that we may simply be transferring the problem from PMDs to bicycles," he said. "We have to ensure that we don't take our eye off education and enforcement efforts."
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
