On the fateful day of 5 November 2019, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) shocked the nation by announcing that Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) were effectively banned from footpaths.
LTA announced that there would be a grace period wherein riders caught riding their PMDs on footpaths will only be issued warnings.
However, come 2020, those caught flouting the new law will be fined up to $2,000, jailed up to three months or both.
Needless to say, the new law received a lot of flak, especially from food delivery riders since their livelihoods were being implicated.
There was also an uprising wherein PMD riders flexed their creativity skills and decided that if they couldn’t ride on footpaths, they would ride on any other surfaces available.
These surfaces included but were not limited to grass patches, drain covers and even on top of shelters.
But it looks like our time is up. #NewsFlash, 2020 is here and LTA ain’t playing.
41 E-Scooter Riders Caught Breaking Footpath Ban Since 1 Jan 2020
Around a month after the PMD ban was announced, a total of 3,444 warnings were issued to riders last month, according to the Land Transport Authority.
Within the same time frame, LTA also impounded 111 PMDs with regards to offences such as illegal modifications of e-scooters.
“Errant e-scooter riders have been charged and sentenced in court,” LTA said in a Facebook post, using the hashtag #WeMeanBusiness.
It’s now 2020 and around 2 months since the ban was implemented. It’s safe to say that they still mean business.
Since 1 January 2020, a total of 41 e-scooter riders were caught breaking the footpath ban. It’s only been a few days…
LTA announced this in a Facebook post and used the hashtag #CatchThemAll.
This came after checks were conducted at Bukit Batok, Bishan, Pasir Ris, Sengkang, Jurong, Woodlands and Yishun.
Another round of plainclothes operation was held at Buangkok and Hougang.
LTA has also urged pedestrians to submit reports on the MyTransport.SG app in the event that they spot an errant rider so that they’re able to identify ‘hotspot locations for enforcement’.
It’s safe to say that using PMDs on footpaths is no longer an option unless you’ve got about $2,000 to spare and three months of your time to possibly shake your leg in jail.
You can download the MyTransport.SG app for android here and app store here. Stay safe on footpaths everyone!
Here’s the full post:
