‘A Lack Of Political Vision And Unwillingness To Regulate’: Rota Slams Ban On E-Scooters
Rota has slammed the recent ban on e-scooters, expressing its disappointment and attributing the decision to a “lack of political vision”.
The reaction comes after authorities announced that Malta is set to ban rental e-scooters by March 2024, due to various inconveniences caused for residents especially in the 9th and 10 districts, with Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg dubbing it as “great news for residents”.
This means that in the span of a year, Malta has lost all platforms which encourage users to ditch their cars, including GoTo Cars, NextBike, and Cool.
“Whilst acknowledging that the current rental e-scooter system is not perfect and has put pedestrians at risk, we express disappointment at the outright ban and attribute these flaws to a lack of political vision and unwillingness to regulate shared micro mobility,” Rota said in a statement this morning.
“Without safe infrastructure, such as segregated lanes and dedicated drop-off points, most e-scooter users had no choice but to share pavements with pedestrians.”
The environmental NGO continued to say how these issues reflect fundamental deficiencies in the local infrastructure, which historically has always prioritised cars at the expense of all other modes of transport, putting further pressure on the already limited public space.
“This created a dangerous predicament for pedestrians, and as Rota, we strongly believe in the hierarchy of road users, safeguarding the most vulnerable.”
“If we truly want pedestrian safety (and safety for all road users, for that matter), the authorities should focus on providing better infrastructure for all by building wider pavements, ensuring adequate street lighting and having frequent pedestrian crossings with dropped kerbs and revoking all illegally obtained driving licences.”
It suggested that in order for Malta to construct the necessary infrastructure and deliver the cultural shift needed for rental e-scooters to be a welcome part of the transport system, government agencies must plan policies, implement regulatory frameworks and better enforcement to cater for it and to be able to control its abuse.
“As a country we should be democratising and making better use of our limited public spaces.”
“Initially, authorities promised dedicated e-scooter parking spots but these never actually materialised. This is a tried and tested solution used in cities all over the world, which could have tackled the erratic parking problem straight away.”
“Unfortunately, due to the lack of political will to implement this solution, this exacerbated the already existing issues of accessibility of pavements and created a public nuisance which greatly affected the public’s perception of micro-mobility.”
“Is banning rental e-scooters truly the best way forward?” it questioned.
“In the last 15 months, our country has lost most of the micro-mobility options available locally,” it said, referencing platforms which enabled bicycle use or ride-sharing.
“By banning these convenient and clean modes of transportation, we believe that this a step in the wrong direction as this will come at the cost of many citizens who wish to diversify their travel beyond their private car and will greatly impact the country’s ability to encourage alternative and sustainable mobility,” it concluded.
What do you make of this reaction?
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