Effectiveness of Recent Measures Related to PMD Ownership and Use

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport what is the estimated cost of LTA's early disposal incentive for e-scooters which do not meet the UL2272 safety standard and who will bear such costs.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport since the start of the mandatory registration of e-scooters in July 2019 (a) how many illegally modified e-scooters have been seized; (b) how does LTA keep check on e-scooter users who illegally modify their vehicles after being certified LTA-approved; and (c) whether the penalties will be enhanced for owners of illegally modified e-scooters.

On 21 September, a young e-scooter rider collided with an elderly cyclist, Mdm Ong Bee Eng, at Bedok North Street 3. Mdm Ong sustained serious injuries and passed away a few days later. We are deeply saddened by the incident and would like to offer our deepest condolences to Mdm Ong’s family.

This particular accident happened not on a pedestrian footpath, but on a dedicated cycling path where the speed limit is 25 km/h. Furthermore, the e-scooter was an unregistered and non-compliant device. It was bought online and that particular device model can go up to 80 km/h. Its usage is illegal.

This accident has caused public alarm over the dangers that personal mobility devices (PMDs) pose to others and has heightened fears for the safety of pedestrians using footpaths, particularly the old and the young. We share Singaporeans' concerns. With PMD use increasing, the number of accidents involving PMDs has gone up. We need footpaths to be safe for pedestrians again.We are determined to improve footpath safety back to the levels we had before PMDs were allowed onto footpaths.

On 5 August 2019, Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min explained in this House our plans to strengthen public path safety and reduce PMD-related fire risks. Given the recent developments, we will revisit these plans to see where we need to rethink our approach and to introduce additional measures. Please give us a month or two to do this thorough review.

PMDs are useful devices for first-and-last mile connectivity, if they are used responsibly. But their usage must not endanger device users and pedestrians. Ideally, there should be a clear separation of traffic – pedestrians on footpaths, active mobility devices on dedicated paths for PMDs and bicycles, and motor vehicles on roads. Because of infrastructure constraints, we allow pedestrians and bicycles to use footpaths as a second best practical solution. New towns will allow such separation, but existing towns currently do not have many dedicated paths for PMDs. This poses an immediate challenge for PMD users.

LTA is working with Members of Parliament to identify hotspots where we can do something quickly to improve safety, for example by widening footpaths and installing speed-regulating strips. We will also speed up development of dedicated paths for PMDs and bicycles. Full implementation of such infrastructure enhancements will take time, years. Meanwhile, we have to make a decision on where to allow PMDs to be used, other than on dedicated paths for PMDs and bicycles – on footpaths, or on roads, or not at all until the town is ready?

These are difficult choices. We will re-examine them and re-discuss with the stakeholders. In the meantime, we strongly urge PMD users to be extra responsible and mindful of others. If their behaviour does not improve, we may have no choice but to ban their usage completely from Singapore. This would be a loss.

Meanwhile, LTA is working with the Town Councils to implement Pedestrian Only Zones (POZs) at all town centres. As there are implementation details to iron out, we will create POZs in stages. We will do so as soon as the Town Councils are ready.

Let me now address the questions posed by Mr Alex Yam, Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Mr Lim Biow Chuan. Mr Alex Yam asked about public feedback on the 15 Town Councils’ ban of bicycles, power-assisted bicycles and PMDs in void decks and common property areas. There have been mixed reactions, with some welcoming the move to enhance safety and others expressing concerns about reduced connectivity. There has not been a noticeable drop in reported incidents yet, as we are still in a two-month advisory period until 31 October 2019. We expect the full impact to be clearer, after the Town Councils begin enforcement action. With regard to Mr Yam's question about the impact on food and goods delivery, LTA does not have such statistics. But we have not received adverse feedback from delivery companies, as deliveries are largely done via motorcycles and delivery vehicles.

To Er Dr Lee Bee Wah's query, LTA had seized 161 non-compliant PMDs from July to September 2019. These included some which were illegally modified. Beyond mandatory inspections at the point of registration, e-scooters will be called up for inspections every two years. LTA is studying upstream measures, including import controls, to tackle the problem of non-compliant PMDs. LTA is also reviewing the penalties for illegal modification of PMDs and other offences.

Mr Lim asked about the costs of LTA's early disposal incentive for non-UL2272 devices. Under the scheme, Government covers the disposal costs and owners of registered e-scooters will qualify for an incentive of $100 if they dispose of their devices before 30 November 2019. Between 23 September and 3 October 2019, LTA received more than 2,800 applications for the early disposal incentive scheme and collected more than 940 PMDs at the designated disposal points. We strongly urge owners of non-UL2272 devices to come forward early with their devices. Every non-UL2272 device safely disposed of is one less potential fire risk.

I understand that some depend on PMDs for their livelihood, but this cannot be at the expense of the safety of millions of pedestrians using the footpaths. I would like to ask will the Ministry consider mandatory licensing for PMD riders which will only be issued after they have passed the highway code and bought third-party insurance. The second question is, can LTA get PMD owners to display their registration numbers clearly, big-big, in front and at the back of their PMDs? Recently, I was trying to look for the number; I could not find it! I hunted high and low for it. It was hiding, inside!

The third question is, will the Ministry take action against shops or individuals who help to do the modifications? The fourth question is, will the Ministry consider making speed limiter installation compulsory so that it will cut off when the PMDs exceed allowable speeds? And lastly, what is the recourse for victims of hit-and-run accidents caused by PMDs? I have just received feedback from my resident – his grandparents were hit by PMD riders at night and the youngsters did not stop to help the poor grandparents. So, what is the recourse?

I thank Er Dr Lee Bee Wah for the questions, Mr Speaker. Indeed, with respect to her first question, there are opportunities for livelihood and jobs created through the use of PMDs. We want to get the right balance between responsible behaviour and making sure that our public spaces are safe for everybody. She mentioned mandatory licensing, a test involving the equivalent of a highway code as well as third-party insurance. Some of these have already been reflected in the Active Mobility Advisory Panel report that came out recently. We are studying that and we are likely to adopt some of these measures. Certainly, as we undertake a thorough review of our process, we will be including many of these ideas in that process. For the display of the registration number, indeed, the registration number is supposed to be very prominently displayed. The reality is that there are many unlicensed PMDs that are still on our paths, on our roads, on our Park Connectors, and which is why, perhaps, the Member was unable to detect the registration number easily. The registration numbers of properly registered devices are to be properly displayed so that action can be taken against errant riders if necessary.

Indeed, once we have our compulsory inspection for each device, both in terms of the existing devices and then, going forward, for each device that is brought in, we will take action if an illegally modified device is detected. Certainly, then, we will also work to find and take action against those businesses that do this.

Compulsory speed limit would potentially be possible if we had access to every device, and again, is something that we will study comprehensively.

The Member asked about the recourse, as the fifth question, having had the experience of a hit-and-run. Certainly, the Police and LTA – depending on the exact location and the exact circumstances – will try to put together information from whatever sources we have to catch the perpetrators. But ultimately, the key message is that in all of these issues, what we are dealing with is a small number of very irresponsible and dangerous individuals. We need to find a way to educate them, to enforce against them when they act in this way and try to find ways to develop a new safety culture in our public spaces so that people can have the assurance of a safe experience on the footpaths.

Sir, while the Ministry conducts this comprehensive and thorough review, in the meanwhile, would the Government consider stopping new sales and new imports of PMDs, at least, we do not add further to the problem that we already have to manage?

Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his suggestion. The steps we have already taken will mean that new devices and new imports need to be compliant and need to be registered. So, going forward, any new device would need to be compliant and registered with our current framework. And so, the likelihood is that what we are dealing with is the errant behaviour by people who have previously brought in very large devices, very fast devices or have illegally modified the devices. It is something to consider. We will look at it. But given the number of these devices that are already here in Singapore, on our footpaths and on our roads, I think there are other steps that we need to consider for early intervention in the first place.