Eileen Ho, 28, a rider for GrabFood and Foodpanda, posing with her 1-year-old child outside the Anchorvale Community Club's multi-purpose hall where the dialogue session with SMS for Transport and Sengkang West MP Lam Pin Min was held on 12 November, 2019. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE — The government cannot risk a delay in implementing the e-scooter ban on footpaths as safety is of paramount concern, Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min was overheard saying during a heated dialogue session with food delivery riders on Tuesday night (12 November).

Behind the closed doors of Anchorvale Community Club’s multipurpose hall, about 300 food delivery riders peppered Lam – who is also the Member of Parliament for Sengkang West SMC – with a flurry of questions, ranging from the ban’s impact on their livelihood, the lack of path infrastructure for e-scooter riders to suggestions like introducing a personal mobility device (PMD) quota on roads.

Some of them had brought along their spouses and young children. Also in attendance was opposition politician Goh Meng Seng, secretary-general of the People’s Power Party, who called for an e-scooter licensing regime.

The session comes after Lam announced last Monday in Parliament that such devices would be banned on footpaths the day after, following a series of accidents involving them.

Reporters who turned up at the venue were not allowed to attend the closed-door session and stood outside the hall. At times, several attendees could be heard cheering on fellow riders who asked questions or heckling loudly during the dialogue, which ended at around 10pm after more than one-and-a-half hours.

At one point, an exasperated Lam could be heard telling the riders, “Because I cherish the lives of Singaporeans. I don’t want Singaporeans to be injured or lose their lives.”

184 off-road accidents involving PMDs occurred from January to September this year, with 64 per cent of them taking place on footpaths.

Lam added that if there were a delay in the implementation of the ban, it would be hard to justify such a move in the event of another serious casualty involving a collision with an e-scooter.

To allow e-scooter users to adjust to the ban, there will be an “advisory period” until the end of the year. While errant users may still be prosecuted, most will likely be let off with a warning.

As of 9am on Sunday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has issued more than 760 warnings since the announcement of the ban.

From 1 January, there will be strict enforcement of the ban, with those caught flouting it liable to a fine of up to $2,000 and/or up to three month’s jail.

Last Friday, Lam unveiled a $7 million grant to help approximately 7,000 food delivery riders reliant on e-scooters to switch to other transport devices, including power-assisted bicycles (PABs), bicycles and personal mobility aids.

Lam was heard speaking extensively about the grant at the dialogue, adding that the path infrastructure is being expanded at the same time.

View photos SMS for Transport and Sengkang West MP Lam Pin Min addressing a crowd on 12 November, 2019, during a dialogue session at Anchorvale Community Club. (PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore) More

Among the riders who turned up was Tan, a rider for GrabFood who currently delivers orders with an e-scooter. Declining to give his full name, Tan told Yahoo News Singapore that he left the dialogue halfway as it was “useless”.

Pointing to a big wound on his right ankle, Tan said that he sustained the injury after he switched temporarily to riding on a bicycle for his deliveries. He has since switched back to an e-scooter.

Tan, who is considering whether to stay on the job, explained, “Pedestrians don't want to give way (and I fall and get hurt). This has not happened before when I was riding an e-scooter.”

He and other e-scooter food delivery riders who attended the dialogue session Yahoo News Singapore spoke to called on the authorities to allow them to use footpaths until the end of this year.

Without that concessionary period for food delivery riders reliant on e-scooters, those who are looking to switch over to alternatives are stuck in limbo till Friday – when the grant is rolled out – or longer, said a 51-year-old GrabFood delivery rider, who also attended a Meet-the-People session in Ang Mo Kio last week hoping to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

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