The government plans to introduce parking bays specifically for e-scooters, and failure to use them could prove to be costly for users.

Whenever users do not park the scooters in their proper bays, such as close to bus stops, they will continue to be charged, with the billing continuing until the scooters are parked in their proper place, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia warned.

E-scooters have been in the news for several months as complaints mount about pavements and garages being blocked by poorly parked e-scooters and senior citizens complaining about dangerous driving.

E-kick scooters are "the way for the future" but enforcement to tackle this "phenomenon" needs to be improved, the transport minister said on Monday.

Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Amanda Spiteri Grech, the minister said Malta has some 5,000 e-kick rides daily in winter and between 15,000 and 20,000 in summer.

The scooters, he said, were seen as an important means of alternative transport but both the legal system and law enforcement needed improving. 

With regard to the former, the law was being amended so that Transport Malta officials could take action in their regard, with legislation currently only limiting action to the police and wardens.

 

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