Owners of electric scooters (e-scooters) can register their devices through LTA’s website or at any SingPost Post Office starting from 2 January 2019.
This was announced by the Land Transport Authority in a press release on Wednesday (12 December). It added that the registration fee of $20 will be waived for e-scooters registered by 31 March 2019 so as to encourage owners to register their e-scooters early.
According to LTA, registrants must be at least 16 years old and will need to declare that their e-scooters are compliant with the device criteria specified under the Active Mobility Act. Those who make false declarations can be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 12 months.
The authority also stressed that only e-scooters that have maximum device unladen weight of 20 kg, maximum device width of 70 cm, and maximum device speed of 25km/h can be registered and used on public paths.
At the point of registration, the registrant will be issued with a unique registration number, and he is required to fabricate an Identification Mark bearing this unique registration number. The Identification Mark must display the registration number assigned by LTA and must be displayed in black characters against a yellow background or white characters against a black background.
Owners who register their e-scooters by 30 June 2019 will be given a grace period of 14 calendar days from the date of registration to affix both the Identification Mark and LTA Registration Mark prominently on the e-scooter, during which they may continue to use the e-scooter.
LTA stressed that it is an offence to ride a registered e-scooter on public paths without the Identification Mark or LTA Registration Mark beyond the grace period. First-time offenders are subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months.
It also warned members of the public that it will be an offence to ride, or cause or permit another person to ride, an unregistered e-scooter on public paths from 1 July 2019. First-time offenders are subject to a fine of up to $2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months.
“These measures are aimed at deterring reckless riding and facilitating enforcement efforts against errant riders to improve public safety for all path users,” LTA noted.
To improve public safety and minimise the risk of fire incidents, retailers will be prohibited from selling non-UL2272 certified devices from 1 July 2019. All motorised PMDs used on public paths must be certified to the UL2272 standard from 1 January 2021.
Owners of existing non-UL2272 certified e-scooters can register them with LTA if they were purchased before 1 July 2019. These e-scooters can be used on public paths until 31 December 2020 and will automatically be deregistered on 1 January 2021 when non-UL2272 certified PMDs cannot be used on public paths.
For the safety of device owners and those around them, LTA said that it strongly encourages all owners to use UL2272 certified devices only. Please refer to LTA’s website for an indicative list of UL2272 certified devices available in Singapore.
