Updated 3pm with Bolt statement

San Ġwann’s local council has said that it will be setting up dedicated e-scooter parking bays within a matter of weeks. 

Around 20 e-scooter parking bays will be set up by next week with another 20 coming in the following weeks. 

In a Facebook post, San Gwann mayor Trevor Fenech said the local council has identified areas where dedicated e-scooter parking would not impede pedestrians or take up vehicle parking spaces. 

"The council has always believed in encouraging alternative transport use. E-scooters are part of this alternative,” he said.

E-scooters and their responsible use are part of the solution to having fewer cars on the road, the San Ġwann mayor said. 

The San Ġwann initiative comes just as the country is grappling with concerns about e-scooter safety and order. 

E-scooters parked in front of a private garage in Sliema.

Most e-scooters in Malta belong to ride-sharing platforms and are of the drop-on, drop-off variety. But residents and local councils have said that users often park them haphazardly and with no consideration for pedestrians or garage owners. 

A spokesperson at Bolt, one of the companies offering e-scooters for hire, said they welcomed the council initiative and said it would be willing to collaborate with it.

The spokesperson said the company is currently trialling new in-app features that would make it easier for the company to automatically identify incorrectly parked e-scooters. 

When an improperly parked scooter is reported the Bolt team deals with the issue within an hour, the spokesperson said.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia said his ministry is in talks with e-scooter operators to discuss the possibility of parking bays across the island. 

He also proposed fining people who park outside designated parking bays. 

Concerns have also been flagged about driver and pedestrian safety, with local councils saying senior citizens in some towns are afraid of leaving their homes due to e-scooter riders driving on pavements, and the family of an e-scooter accident victim who nearly died calling for helmets to be made mandatory.