Transportation is among the leading causes of carbon emissions globally. Cars and other vehicles that operate on fossil fuel have become less welcome features of cities across Europe.
Their emissions are unwelcome not only for their contribution to climate change but because emissions have a real impact on the well-being of city inhabitants. Noise pollution is also detrimental and the infrastructure needed for cars is costly, takes up a lot of space and requires costly and frequent maintenance.
So it makes sense to start moving toward alternative means of transport that is cheaper, more accessible, emit no harmful chemicals and that can exist in more people-friendly cities with improved and cleaner public e-scooters.
Capitals like Paris and Brussels have pedestrianised areas that used to be busy roads. And another, smaller vehicle has made a definite appearance in both: electric scooters.
But Malta is not Paris or Brussels. What works somewhere else doesn’t necessarily work here. We should prepare to include alternative means of transport, like e-scooters. But the trial run of allowing e-scooters to roam our streets without proper regulation and enforcement was a failure.
Until the regulations and enforcement strategy are rethought, licences for rental e-scooters should be suspended.
Maltese public spaces are less safe than they used to be. Rampant construction, shoddy infrastructure like poor quality, small pavements, and a campaign against trees have rendered squares and promenades less accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Unleashing a swarm of e-scooters has only made this worse. They are not going to alleviate Malta’s car obsession single-handedly or overnight. Instead, they have made it more dangerous for their users and for pedestrians. The past months have confirmed this: almost weekly accidents resulting in grievous injuries.
There is a place for e-scooters. But they have to be introduced safely and cautiously.
First of all, nobody should be allowed to use public roads in any powered vehicle unless they have a licence first. This is about safety above all else. Rental companies should be obliged to check that e-scooter users are no younger than 16, with verifications in place to check their age and licences. Third-party insurance should also be compulsory, just as is the case with cars.
Having e-scooters ride against traffic endangers the users, cars and pedestrians. We have seen how this behaviour ends.
Enforcing rules is essential, otherwise, we will continue reaping the sour fruit of the status quo. Enforcement can be facilitated by visible number plates on e-scooters, which can help trace e-scooters and confirm that users fulfil the legal obligations.
Until the regulations are rethought, licences for rental e-scooters should be suspended- Eve Borg Bonello
Helmets and high-visibility clothing, like bands or jackets, should not be optional; they should ideally be provided as an essential component of every e-scooter. Helmets can literally mean the difference between life and death. Wearing one is a small price to pay.
Compared to cycling, emergency outpatient doctors have noted that e-scooter injuries can be worse. Cyclists tend to fall sideways but as e-scooters can easily flip forward with a hard break, the chin and head can be the first to impact the tarmac. In these cases, even a helmet might not be enough. Which is why Brussels has recently imposed a 20km/h limit on e-scooters, to reduce the rate and intensity of injuries.
On pedestrian walkways, scooters should not move at a speed greater than walking pace, if they should be allowed there at all.
Finally, Malta’s space problem has not been helped by e-scooters. I believe they should be part of a strategy to reduce car use and improve public transport. This is not how it should be done. In the limited space we have, with narrow pavements which need to cater to those with limited mobility, having e-scooters lying around randomly poses a hazard.
Parking bays should therefore be assigned to e-scooters, where users can pick up and drop them off safely and out of the way of pedestrians. Nor should they take up already scarce parking spaces, not while they are not a viable alternative to cars.
Densely populated localities like Sliema, with narrow pavements, are becoming a nightmare to navigate, especially for the elderly. This is not fair and should not be allowed to continue.
There is a place for e-scooters in Malta. But we cannot tolerate waiting for the next grievous injury to be a fatal one before action is taken. We have already seen many avoidable accidents in the past weeks.
Prime Minister Robert Abela and Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia should have taken action long ago. If they continue persisting in doing nothing, it will be hard to blame anyone else for the preventative measures that were not taken.
Eve Borg Bonello is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on climate change.