Go ahead for motorised bicycles but not e-scooters

Motor assisted bicycles - known as E-bicycles - are to be finally given the green light for use on the roads under regulations being drafted by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT).

But the smaller e-scooters (motorised scooters) will be driven off the roads for good as the new regulations, due at the end of this month, will stipulate that they may be ridden only off-road.

The recent introduction of the motor-assisted bicycles and scooters had elicited hundreds of complaints from pedestrians and drivers who described them as an accident waiting to happen, but they quickly became a craze among youngsters who were not old enough to drive a car or ride a motorcycle. Environmentalists saw them as the perfect solution for polluted and traffic-choked roads.

Sales of e-scooters and e-bicycles nose-dived after the ADT last July said it was unlawful for anyone to drive motorised scooters in any public road, pending further investigations. A temporary ban was placed on the importation of motorised scooters or similar vehicles.

ADT chief executive Mario Falzon told The Times yesterday the draft regulations, currently being drawn up with the ADT's legal advisers, have been tailored specifically for Malta's roads.

He said the manufacturer of the motorised scooters himself had stressed they were designed for off-road purposes only (off road including promenades and playgrounds).

On the other hand, e-bicycles will be permitted on roads but not in tunnels, promenades and pedestrian subways, a regulation which will also be extended to bicycles.

It has still not been decided whether riders of e-bicycles will require a licence and whether an age limit will be imposed. Drivers of such vehicles will, however, be requested to wear a helmet.

The ADT held meetings with the Customs Department and the Malta Standards Authority to draw up the regulations. The European Commission was also consulted and replied that there were no standard regulations about this matter in the EU.

Mr Falzon admitted that certain importers, some of whom were burdened with unsold stock, had protested to the ADT.