Dropping banhammer, Singapore forbids e-scooters on all footpaths

A man caught riding an unregistered “e-scooter.” Photo: Land Transport Authority/Facebook

By Coconuts Singapore

Nov 4, 2019 | 2:34pm Singapore time

Singapore’s revolution in personal mobility devices came to an end today.

E-scooters have been banned from all of Singapore’s footpaths “with immediate effect,” transportation officials announced today in a move to put pedestrian safety back on the right path.

Riders will have until Dec. 31 to adjust to the new rules before strict enforcement begins the New Year’s Day, the Land Transport Authority said. Those caught riding e-scooters on footpaths could be fined S$2,000 (US$1,790) or jailed up to three months.

“However, egregious cases will still be subject to regulatory action during this [adjustment period],” the authority wrote online.

E-scooters will now only be allowed on cycling paths and parks and will remain banned from roadways.

The government will progressively rope in unicycles and hoverboards under the new regs early next year, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said in parliament today. Motorized wheelchairs and bicycles are not affected by the ban.

Lam reiterated that the latest rule does not amount to a complete ban of e-scooters in Singapore. He added that e-scooter riders can look forward to more cycling paths in Singapore, noting that the network would expand from 440km today to 750km in 2025. New cycling paths have been planned for new housing estates Tengah, Kampung Bugis, Woodlands North Coast.

Lam also noted that food deliverymen who travel with an e-scooter will be hit by the new ban, adding that the government is looking into helping those firms like Foodpanda help their staff switch to motorcycles and bicycles instead. Less than 30 percent of such the deliveryman use e-scooters, citing feedback from the firms.

“Cities have allowed the use of such devices on footpaths as they are non-pollutive, inexpensive and, if properly used, convenient for short intra-town travels. We expected the co-sharing of footpaths to be challenging but were hopeful that with public education, PMD users would be gracious and responsible. Unfortunately, this was not so,” Today quoted Lam as saying.