SINGAPORE: From April 2020, all e-scooters will have to undergo inspection every two years to ensure that they comply with the criteria for use on public paths, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Monday (Oct 7).



This comes after Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min announced in August that all e-scooters will have to go through a mandatory inspection. The inspections will check for UL2272 certification, width, weight and device speed limits.



"These are part of a series of measures to improve public safety," said LTA in the media release.



LTA said that it will schedule free inspections for e-scooters registered before Apr 1, 2020 and were declared as UL2272-certified.



Owners of these devices will receive a notice from LTA informing them to bring their devices to one of the inspection centres.



"Those who fail to send their devices for inspection by the stipulated deadline could face a fine of up to S$1,000 and/or jailed up to three months, if convicted," said LTA.



List of E-scooter Inspection Centres (EICs). (Source: Land Transport Authority)

All e-scooters which are not UL2272-certified will be automatically deregistered by July next year - the deadline for all e-scooters to meet the fire safety standards.

Devices that are UL2272-certfied but do not comply with weight, width and speed requirements during inspection will have their registration cancelled by LTA.



From April next year, all new e-scooters will be required to pass the inspection before they can be registered for use on public paths, said LTA.

"Retailers and businesses will only be able to display, sell or lease devices that have passed the inspection and bear the requisite registration mark," it said.



Those found guilty of riding an unregistered e-scooter on public paths can be fined S$2,000 and/or jailed up to three months.

It is also illegal to ride non-compliant e-scooters on public paths. Offenders can be fined S$5,000 and/or jailed up to three months.

In the release, LTA said it was also studying upstream measures to tackle the issue of non-compliant personal mobility devices (PMDs) more effectively.

"LTA is also reviewing the penalties for illegal modification of PMDs and other offences, and will not hesitate to come down hard on users who flout the rules flagrantly and endanger the lives of others."

