Like a bolt from the blue, the Nov 4 announcement by the Government that electric scooters would be banned from footpaths the very next day caught many people off guard. A ban on other personal mobility devices (PMDs) will be rolled out progressively by the first quarter of next year.
The ban came amid a rise in errant behaviour and incidents involving e-scooters or other PMDs. Between Jan 1 and Sep 30, there had been three fatalities. Many pedestrians gave the thumbs up for the ban while e-scooter users were wringing their hands over the loss of a convenient and cheap means of transport — and a potential big drop in earnings for food delivery riders.
In the immediate aftermath, scores of food delivery riders turned up at the meet-the-people and dialogue sessions held by Members of Parliament to vent their frustrations and unhappiness.
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Lessons from the PMD saga and where to go from here
It came swiftly and with little warning.
On Nov 4, the authorities declared that electric scooters — which have become a fixture of Singapore’s streets in recent years — would be barred from footpaths the next day.
Even as pedestrians cheered, the news set off a furore among many users of the ubiquitous “e-scooters”, as they are known in the city-state. The loudest protests came from 7,000 or so food-delivery riders whose jobs depended on these vehicles.
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Life after the e-scooter footpath ban
Like a bolt from the blue, the Nov 4 announcement by the Government that electric scooters would be banned from footpaths the very next day caught many people off guard. A ban on other personal mobility devices (PMDs) will be rolled out progressively by the first quarter of next year.
Many pedestrians gave the thumbs up for the ban while e-scooter users were wringing their hands over the loss of a convenient and cheap means of transport — and a potential big drop in earnings for food delivery riders.
In the immediate aftermath, scores of food delivery riders turned up at the meet-the-people and dialogue sessions held by Members of Parliament to vent their frustrations and unhappiness.
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E-scooter ban on footpaths to extend to all motorised PMDs under amendments to Active Mobility Act
The ban on riding e-scooters on footpaths will be extended to all motorised personal mobility devices (PMDs), under amendments to the Active Mobility Act introduced in Parliament on Monday (Jan 6). The ban came into effect for e-scooters - defined as motorised PMDs with handlebars - on Nov 5 last year.
Under the Active Mobility (Amendment) Bill, the footpath ban will include devices such as hoverboards and electric unicycles.
The Bill also allows the implementation of a number of recommendations made by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel in September.
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E-scooter footpath ban, minimum riding age set to become law under proposed changes to Active Mobility Act
The ban on electric scooters on footpaths and a minimum riding age are set to be written into law as the Government tabled amendments to the Active Mobility Act on Monday (Jan 6). The law, which came into force in May 2018, lays out rules governing the safe use of public paths.
The aim of the proposed changes is to strengthen the regulatory regime governing mobility vehicles and retailers, and promote safety on public paths, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a statement on Monday (Jan 6).
The Amendment Bill also makes related changes to the Road Traffic Act — which regulates road traffic, the use of vehicles and road users — to beef up penalties for offences related to personal mobility devices.
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Man arrested for inciting PMD users to attack people at Punggol Park
A 34-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday (Dec 31) for using social media app Telegram to incite Personal Mobility Device (PMD) users to attack park users at Punggol Park.
The police said they received a report on Monday that a Telegram user had posted in Telegram chat groups calling for PMD users to gather at Punggol Park at 9pm that day to "cause injury to anyone they see".
Officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division identified the suspect and arrested him on Tuesday at 10am.
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LTA catches 2 e-scooter riders on 1st day of strict enforcement
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) caught two e-scooter riders riding on footpaths on Wednesday (1 January), the day on which zero-tolerance enforcement actions against errant riders began.
In a post on its Facebook page, LTA said it stationed enforcement officers in areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Punggol, Sengkang, Sembawang and Yishun on Wednesday to catch e-scooter riders flouting the law, which was enacted on 5 November last year following a series of e-scooter-related accidents.
Up until Tuesday, errant riders were issued warnings by the authorities. From Wednesday, they can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed up to three months. “E-scooter users can continue to ride their devices on cycling paths and PCNs (Park Connector Networks). We are ramping up such infrastructure islandwide to better support active mobility,” LTA said in the Facebook post, which was hash-tagged #NoMoreWarnings.
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Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving 30 December 2019 at 19:30
#PSA We have issued more than 6,000 warnings to e-scooter users who were caught riding on footpaths in December 2019.
⚠ #LastWarning Today – 31 Dec 2019 – is the final day of the advisory period. From tomorrow onwards – 1 Jan 2020 – we will enforce the ban of riding e-scooters on footpaths strictly. Offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to three months. #NoMoreChances
Members of the public are also encouraged to send us a photo or video on the MyTransport.SG app if you should spot any errant riding behaviour.
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More than 6,000 caught riding e-scooters on footpaths in December
More than 6,000 people were caught riding their e-scooters on footpaths in December, despite a ban on doing so being announced last month.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a Facebook post that Tuesday (Dec 31) was the last day of the "advisory period" for the ban.
Last month the authorities announced that the use of e-scooters on footpaths would be banned from Nov 5, although those found doing so until Dec 31 would only receive warnings. About 3,400 warnings were issued to riders in the first month of the ban.
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Teen PMD rider hit pedestrian, 69, causing spine fracture
A teenager who was riding an e-scooter along a pavement knocked into a 69-year-old woman on her way to a polyclinic, causing the victim to fall backwards, a court heard.
As a result of the accident on 11 March, the victim had a compression fracture on her spine and feels pain every day.
At the State Courts last Friday (27 December), the errant e-scooter rider, Mohamad Danial Akid Mohamad Imran, 19, pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous hurt by doing a negligent act endangering human life, by failing to keep a proper lookout.
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Look Back 2019: Cracking down on errant e-scooter users
The rules have been tightened for users of electric scooters and other personal mobility devices (PMDs), following several accidents and an alarming increase in the number of devices that have caught fire.
From July 1, it became an offence to ride an unregistered e-scooter on public footpaths. Owners of such devices can receive a $100 incentive if they dispose of their PMDs early.
But it was the ban of e-scooters from 5,500km of footpaths that grabbed headlines. This was after the death on Sept 25 of Madam Ong Bee Eng, who was on her bicycle when it collided with an e-scooter.
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Prepare to be jailed up to 3 months if you ride PMD on S’pore footpaths from Jan 1, 2020
The warning has been sounded in late December as tougher enforcement is going to come into effect in about one week’s time.
Mainstream media has focused its coverage on personal mobility riders still scooting around Singapore illegally, despite the Nov. 5 ban. A tougher stance to deal with recalcitrant riders translates into fines and possible jail terms for those caught and found guilty.
Offenders will face a fine of up to S$2,000 and/ or jail of up to three months.
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PMD users caught flouting rules despite ban
Stompers Ellie and Melvin contributed more videos of these errant PMD riders. Ellie was on her way home with her father when she noticed a group of PMD riders travelling along a pavement at 31 Jalan Bumbong.
She said to Stomp: "It was about 6.20pm on Thursday (Dec 19) when I saw these PMD riders. "My dad was driving and when I saw these PMD riders, all I thought was that they're very daring."
Stomper Melvin, who previously recorded a PMD rider going against traffic, said: "I saw these videos of PMD riders on roads circulating on social media."
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E-scooter user: I'll defy footpath ban so I can feed my kids
After issuing thousands of warnings in two months, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will take a zero-tolerance approach against e-scooter riders caught on footpaths from Jan 1.
But one rider will continue to defy the ban despite being aware of the penalties if he gets caught. Wanting to be known only as Mr Ariffin, the full-time food delivery rider of three years feels he has little choice because he has three young mouths to feed.
He said the ban, which kicked in on Nov 5, was too sudden and did not give users time to adapt.
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WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE PERSONAL MOBILITY DEVICE POLICY?
As early as 4th November 2014, the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Committee reviewed the use of personal mobility devices on footpaths and roads. Then Minister of Transport Lui Tuck Yew explained that these devices are not suited for roads as they do not meet the safety standards of road-bound vehicles. Debates on whether PMDs should be used on footpaths was also raised by Member of Parliament, Dr. Lee Bee Wah. The solution proposed then was tighter enforcement against PMD users in the neighbourhood.
Fast-forward to 2015, PMDs was widely promoted as the revolutionary alternative to owning private vehicles and public transport. The adoption of PMD was initially expected to have several advantages; the reduction of carbon emissions and traffic congestion. Moreover, it aims to be solution for last-mile short distance transport between public transport drop-off point to the user’s final destination. Never was it meant for long distance commute. Hence, a series of policies were being launched to encourage the adoption of PMD which includes the permission for PMDs to be used on footpath in April 2015, code of conduct in April 2016, and insurance policies from NTUC in May 2016.
However, the fate of PMDs on footpath took a nasty turn on 22 September 2016 when Madam Ang Liu Kiow met with an accident with a PMD rider leaving her with a permanent brain damage. The rider, Nicholas Ting – a Polytechnic student then, was only sentenced in 2018 to be incarcerated for two weeks. This was the first documented incident which caused tensions between the safety of pedestrians and PMD users; and it would not be the last. Aggressive appeals to ban PMDs on footpaths was launched on May 2019 due to the failure to enforce responsible ridership.
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What’s next for e-scooters after the footpath ban?
The ban on e-scooters from footpaths was announced suddenly. But let us be honest, it was a long time coming.
The warning signs were there: Fights and accidents playing out in full view for all to see and judge, and efforts at mediation were insufficient to calm the tension hanging in the air, too thick to be tenable over the long term.
The co-habitation arrangement between pedestrians and e-scooters wasn’t going to stand the test of time.
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Can we co-exist with PMDs? Yes, but we need to take a different path
The move to regulate and ban PMDs from void decks and corridors shouldn’t miss out on the bigger picture: We should be doing our utmost to enable people to move around their city, says Julienne Chen.
There are five principles I bear in mind when it comes to thinking about e-scooters and other personal mobility devices (PMDs):
- First, mobility (or, the ease and ability with which one can go from Point A to Point B) can make or break a city.
- Second, walking is a fundamental human right.
- Third, Singapore needs more options for environmentally sustainable, affordable and convenient transportation.
- Fourth, cities have been shaped around cars to the detriment of the above three principles.
- Lastly, to maintain a high quality of life, the status quo for mobility is not good enough.
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E-scooter ban on footpaths: 5 things you need to know
Electric scooters will be banned from footpaths in Singapore from Tuesday (Nov 5), Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min announced in Parliament on Monday.
Dr Lam described it as a "difficult decision" but he added that it was "a necessary step" for the safety of pedestrians on public paths. However, he stressed that this change "is not a complete ban of e-scooters".
Here is what you need to know on the latest announcement:
- What happens if you're caught riding an e-scooter on a footpath?
- Where can you ride your e-scooter?
- Does this ban only apply to e-scooters?
- How will this affect other services using e-scooters?
- Can I still dispose of non-compliant e-scooters?
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E-scooter users will have to pass theory test, be at least 16 years old to ride on cycling paths
New restrictions on electric scooters in Singapore will come into place after the Government said on Wednesday (Dec 4) it has accepted all recommendations put forward by a panel studying the use of the devices.
No start date has been announced for the implementation of the regulations, which include a minimum age of 16 for e-scooter users to ride on cycling paths. Those under the age of 16 will have to be supervised by adults.
Before riding on cycling paths, e-scooter users will also have to pass a theory test – a requirement which will be extended to electric bicycle users before they are allowed to ride on cycling paths and the roads.
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After high-profile accidents, PMD footpath ban was inevitable in Singapore
In the end, the inevitable happened. Facing pressure from the public to crack down on errant personal mobility device (PMD) users, the Singapore authorities banned e-scooters on footpaths and introduced stiff penalties for offenders yesterday.
Though the decision isn’t that much of a surprise, the swiftness of the change is. The new rules come into effect today, just a day after they were announced by Dr Lam Pin Min, the Senior Minister of State for Transport.
The penalties are also meant to deter. Fines of up to S$2,000 and jail time of up to three months await offenders who are caught in 2020. For now, warnings are given out during an advisory period.
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TTSH reports surge in accidents involving PMD riders over last 3 years, especially in 2019
While much attention has centred on pedestrians suffering severe, even fatal injuries after collisions with personal mobility devices (PMDs), PMD riders themselves are also being injured in fast-rising numbers, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) said on Monday (Oct 21).
A stocktake at TTSH found a 68 per cent surge in PMD-related accidents over the last two years and nine months, the hospital said at a briefing. Between January 2017 and September 2019, the hospital treated 213 patients who were PMD riders, and saw six patients who were pedestrians involved in PMD accidents.
Among the 213 PMD rider incidents, there were six deaths. More than three-quarters of the PMD riders were male.
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Nearly 300 treated at hospitals for PMD-related accidents last year; 1 in 6 had severe injuries
Almost 300 people were treated last year at hospitals for accidents related to personal mobility devices (PMDs), with about a sixth of the injuries being severe.
While the number of people hurt in accidents involving bicycles, cars and motorcycles is higher, PMD accidents lead to proportionately more severe injuries, according to data from the National Trauma Registry.
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed the figures in a written answer to Nominated MP Walter Theseira in Parliament yesterday.
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Increasing number of PMD users being injured as well, says Tan Tock Seng Hospital
While we’ve noticed an increase in personal mobility device (PMD) related accidents recently with unsuspecting pedestrians being injured, some fatally, from collisions, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) said on Monday that PMD users themselves are not getting away unscathed.
The number of PMD riders being injured was also on the rise, said the hospital, noting that there was an increase of 68% in PMD-related accidents at the hospital in the last two years and nine months.
The hospital said at a briefing that 213 PMD riders were treated between January 2017 and September 2019 for PMD accidents, along with six patients who were pedestrians involved in similar incidents. Of the 213 cases, 6 patients died.
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related:
The dust settles on E-scooter footpath ban
Furore over the ban of E-scooters from footpaths
Singapore bans E-scooters from footpaths after spate of accidents
Spate of e-bike accidents
Spate of fires linked to charging of PMDs
