The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has no plans to ban Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) in Singapore.

However, it said that Town Councils were free to ban PMDs from void decks if they chose to.

No ban of PMDs

Speaking in Parliament on May 7, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min responded to questions from several MPs about the devices, which have resulted in injuries to Singaporeans since their usage has increased over time.

MP Lee Bee Wah asked if the move by the city of Paris in France to ban e-scooters from its footpaths could be emulated.

In reply, Lam said that while the ministry will continue to study the examples set by other cities, it has to tailor its approach to the local context.

As such, it will not ban PMDs from footpaths.

Instead, public education and creating the "right culture" for responsible riding will be their preferred approach.

Lam said: "I think we just have to exercise graciousness, caution, as well as to act responsibly when we share the use of common spaces such as footpaths and even in shared paths."

Measures to hold errant riders to account

According to Lam, more than 1,630 individuals have been caught for e-scooter-related offences.

To combat this, MOT introduced mandatory e-scooter registration to better track down errant riders.

If a member of the public has a complaint about an e-scooter incident, they have many options to make a report:

• Phone hotlines.
• Social media.
• Online feedback forms.
• Mobile apps like MyTransport.SG or OneService.

However, people involved in accidents should file a report with the police straight away.

Town Councils can ban PMDs from void decks

MP Murali Pillai asked if the enclosed void deck space in HDB blocks could be designated as pedestrian-only paths under the Active Mobility Act.

Lam replied that as void deck spaces are not declared as public paths under the Act, Town Councils can instead set and enforce their own rules on PMDs.

According to The Straits Times, Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh asked if the Act could be extended to cover void decks, as imposing the force of law would be more effective.

Pritam said: "We have an elderly population, it's going to grow in the next 10 years, and I believe that if the ministry takes the lead, then you will have lesser chance of untoward incidents happening."

However, Lam replied that Town Councils needed the flexibility, as the configuration of each void deck was different.

Related story:

Top image from Gov.sg YouTube and LTA's Facebook page.