Italy plans to crack down on e-scooters

ITALY may crack down on use of e-scooters, hailed as either the future of urban transport or considered to be a menace on city streets that terrorises pedestrians and litters sidewalks across Rome, Milan and other metropolises.

E-scooters will now require a registration plate, and owners will need to purchase insurance to use public roads, according to a draft of changes to Italy’s transport code seen by Bloomberg. Sharing services, which have seen a rapid expansion nationwide, also face increased red tape and restrictions.

Populist firebrand and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini has promised to crack down on traffic violations from e-scooter users. The proposed new rules also require e-scooters to have turning indicators and for users to wear a helmet. Plans to require licence plates for bicycles, initially reported by Italian media, do not appear in the draft seen by Bloomberg.

While offering a non-polluting answer to streets often clogged by private cars, the rapid expansion of e-scooters has faced a backlash in several European towns. Parisians voted earlier this year to ban hiring services altogether from the city’s streets.

There were more than 45,000 rental e-scooters on Italian streets in 2021, according to the data from Osservatorio Sharing Mobility, a state-backed sector association. E-scooters became particularly popular after the end of lockdowns as an alternative to public transport and as a response to the frequent absence of cycling lanes in large Italian cities.

Other proposed changes to the transport code include harsher sanctions for drunk driving, including a lifetime ban, and stricter rules for young people who have just received their licence. BLOOMBERG