If you’ve never seen the boxing film Rocky, it’s essentially about a guy who never gives up – he keeps getting up after getting knocked out.
OK, I’ve never seen the film either, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s about, based on vague memories of YouTube trailers.
If you think about it, PMD riders are like the Rocky of commuters – they keep riding their scooters despite getting constantly slapped with warnings and bans. Just like Rocky, they keep persevering in the face of adversity.
However, unlike Rocky, if a movie about PMD riders were ever made, they’d be the antagonist.
Because when even a food delivery company with a kangaroo’s face for a logo refuses to associate with you, you know you’re doing something wrong.
Deliveroo Announce They’ll Stop Working With PMD Users As Stricter Enforcement Kicks In
In November, food delivery company Deliveroo said it will stop working with food delivery riders who use e-scooters on footpaths after the ban was announced.
They sent out a notice to all riders to inform them of the new regulation.
“Should any rider be found using an e-scooter on footpaths after Nov 5, we will stop working with them,” a Deliveroo spokesperson said.
And that’s exactly what they did.
After the Land Transport Authority (LTA) caught two e-scooter riders riding on footpaths on Wednesday (1 Jan), Deliveroo announced that they have stopped assigning food delivery orders to riders on personal mobility devices (PMDs).
They initially said in November that they’ll stop giving food orders to errant food delivery riders, but now, they’re taking a stricter stance.
Any existing PMD rider who has not switched vehicles, or applied for LTA’s e-scooter trade-in grant by the 31 December deadline, will not be able to continue working for the company until they confirm that they would like to switch vehicles, said a Deliveroo spokesperson.
In November, Deliveroo said it expects “minimal impact” to its operations as a result of the ban, noting that PMDs and e-bikes make up just 5 per cent of its entire delivery team of about 6,000 riders.
Zero-tolerance enforcement
The E-scooter footpath ban was introduced on 5 Nov, but zero-tolerance enforcement actions against errant riders only kicked in on 1 Jan 2020.
In a post on Facebook, LTA said it stationed enforcement officers in areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Punggol, Sengkang, Sembawang and Yishun on Wednesday to catch offending PMD riders.
Over six thousand warnings were issued in December to those who continued to grace our streets with their devices after the ban.
We wondered if PMD riders would really persist even after the new year, and they did.
If you’re a PMD rider who’s about to defiantly ride your scooter on a footpath in protest of the ban, please know that this will do absolutely nothing but land you in a lot of trouble.
If you’re caught, you can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed up to three months. So, you should put your PMD away and use those two things dangling from your hips to get around.
