One of the biggest advantages of electric scooters is their “last mile” nature. That means they join up a fractured public transport network that doesn’t always simply get commuters from A to B. It’s often A to B to C or more. It was electric scooters biggest strength until the National Transport Authority banned electric scooters from public transport over battery safety concerns.
Unfortunately, a couple of years ago the Irish Government really dragged its heels on electric scooter regulation. The result was the market being flooded with anything and everything and sometimes the quality wasn’t to safety standards. So the ban was somewhat understandable, justified and in line with many other countries even if still a little over zealous.
But now, with proposed changes to electric scooter regulation in Ireland, electric scooters could, and in my opinion should, be allowed back on public transport.
Proposed electric scooter law changes
The Irish Government has acted surprisingly quickly on electric scooter regulation changes following headlines emerging that they are causing a mini public health crisis. I’d argue plenty of that crisis is somewhat conflated by the initial inaction by the Government that let overpower unregulated scooters flood the market in the first place, but let’s not go down that route.
Proposed changes are fairly logical. Over 18s only, mandatory helmets and hi-vis along with insurance and a registration system. For this article, the most interesting part is the insurance and registration system. Because this element will make electric scooters one of the most heavily regulated modes of transport in the country, arguably even more so than cars in some areas. Yet, someone can take a largely unregulated ebike on a train, while the highly regulated escooter must stay behind.
Given they are such an excellent last mile mode of transport, I personally believe this has to change.
Will electric scooters be allowed on public transport?
A Department of Transport spokesperson told me that “decisions in relation to carriage on public transport will be undertaken by the NTA once further regulations and requirements are in place”. And they absolutely should be allowed on public transport. Here is why.
The same spokesperson also told me that “further consideration in relation to existing e-scooters will be given,” which matters more than it sounds. This can’t just be a framework built for scooters bought after the fact. Ireland already has thousands of legal, compliant scooters on the road today, mine included, and any solution has to account for the horse that’s already bolted, not just the stable door for new arrivals.
First of all, if commuters are paying insurance along with any registration fees or tax, the registration process absolutely must include safeguards that the scooter being used is road legal and meets EU quality standards. Once that framework is in place and done properly, electric scooters become one of the most heavily scrutinised modes of transport, which should be completely safe to carry on public transport.
Ireland has a bad habit of following suit with our EU neighbours without realising we are a unique country. Germany offers the best example. Taking an escooter on public transport in Germany brings mixed results. In Hamburg, you can bring an electric scooter on trains and buses but not the underground. This makes total sense, because should even the unlikely happen underground it’s much easier to deal with in a bus than a metro.
But this is an obviously important point for the NTA to consider in Ireland given we famously have no Metro. We don’t need a blanket ban on public transport. We need nuanced rules that allow commuters to navigate their commutes across rail and bus, with the option to cover the last mile on a scooter.
Remember, there are folding ebike users already using public transport with the very same battery technology. We just have to have checks and balances in place on quality. Electric scooters offer another compact last mile mode of transport that should be adopted, safely.
Airlines and batteries
Another example worth noting is batteries on planes. There have been long standing rules on the maximum rated power bank you can carry on a flight along with not being allowed to check them into the hold. In the past fortnight, I’ve flown with Lufthansa, Aer Lingus and Ryanair – all of which have new instructions on the flight to not store power banks in the overhead locker or to use them during a flight.
This is to reduce the risk of a fire on a flight. A genuine risk that is now navigated with guidelines and processes in the event of fire as planes carry fireproof boxes.
If airlines can assess and navigate the risks of lithium-ion batteries, I think we can do the same for a bus.
The Department of Transport can look at electric scooters as a scourge and a headache. The NTA can look at them as a risk. I look at them as the missing link in a fractured commute, and once registration and insurance are in place, there’s no safety argument left for keeping that link off the DART and the bus.
Featured image by Yiting He on Unsplash
