E-scooter violations are so rife that not even doubling the number of enforcement officers overnight would have solved the issue, the Transport Minister said.

Speaking after the Transport Ministry announced a surprise ban on e-scooter rentals as from March 1, Aaron Farrugia insisted that the ban was the result of abuse, which overshadowed the advantages of rental e-scooters.

He added that abuse peaked in summer.

"We had massive illegalities last summer in many zones, but especially in Sliema, St Julians and Paceville," Farrugia said.  

This included speeding on promenades, negligent riding, riding on arterial roads and riding on the wrong side. 

Moreover, rental e-scooters were carelessly left on pavements and in front of people's front doors, Farrugia said in a video uploaded to Facebook.  

The transport minister said authorities were put under a lot of strain to enforce contraventions.

Through the ban, resources can now be put to better use, he said. 

He also said that the rental e-scooters did not reduce car use. 

"International studies and experience show that escooters replace walking and public transport and not cars," he said. 

"We have decided to avoid rental e-scooter-related fatalities, introduce order in our roads and, above all, return our promenades and pavements to the people to strengthen active mobility."

Private e-scooters will not be affected by the ban, Farrugia said, adding that private owners act responsibly in the way they ride and park. 

"We will be financially incentivising their purchase," he said. 

There are some 5,000 rental scooters in Malta. 

The scooters, rented by two companies, were particularly popular among tourists and foreign workers living in Sliema and St Julians.

Government sources also said that the two companies systematically contest most of the thousands of contraventions they are given, frustrating authorities.

'A total failure'- Adrian Delia 

In comments to Times of Malta, the PN's transport shadow minister said the decision was the result of a “total failure”. 

“The government opened the industry but failed to immediately accompany this with the proper regulation,” he said. 

People were overwhelmed with scooters that were all over the place, and this led to an outcry from residents and tourists, he said.   

Delia said the Nationalist Party had proposed measures to properly regulate rental scooters but these had been ignored by the government.  

“Instead of introducing robust regulation, the government panicked and went full circle,” he charged.