Dublin Commuter Coalition calls proposed ban on E-Scooters “farcical”

Suggestions of a blanket ban for E-Scooters is an unworkable, kneejerk reaction from a Government that has not only failed to enforce its own regulations, they’ve also failed to understand the underlying cause of the issue.

Tireless efforts by transport campaigners over the past decade led to the recent regulations that legalised E-Scooters with small batteries and reasonable road speeds; however these laws have been continuously undermined by domestic retailers who overwhelmingly stock vehicles that exceed the limitations. Worse still is that in many cases, the minimum recommended age for use by retailers can be as low as six years of age, despite the fact that the law makes it illegal for anyone under the age of sixteen to use an E-Scooter of any type.

When paired with the chronic under-resourcing of An Garda Síochána’s Road Policing Unit and refusal to reform the Road Safety Authority so the entity can correctly educate the public; Government has created the perfect situation for misuse of E-Scooters by children, and the criminal use of them by organised gangs.

While there is certainly a degree of unacceptable rule breaking by the thousands of adults who use legally compliant E-Scooters every day, we understand the levels are no greater than other types of motorist; whose vehicles pose a far greater risk to the operators, and other road users around them. 

The adults using E-Scooters each day use them to travel to work, to shop in their local communities and escort their children riding bicycles to school. Not only would a blanket ban punish lawful E-Scooter owners but it would also punish commuters in general. 

The M50 is severely over capacity, MetroLink is at least a decade away, and BusConnects, Dart+ & the Luas extensions go un-funded; however, Government seems to favour a policy that will push thousands back into cars. The transport sector is the second worst contributor of emissions in Ireland after agriculture; rolling back on measures that empower people to choose a form of sustainable personal travel certainly won’t help us reach our legally binding climate reduction target by 2030.

The Dublin Commuter Coalition is calling on Government to allocate the required resources for An Garda Síochána to enforce the existing rules of the road, and to stop non-compliant scooters from entering the market or be advertised for use by children, something they’ve failed to do since E-Scooters were legalised on Irish Roads.

Dublin Commuter Coalition Chairperson; Jason Cullen said:

“Following the regulations that legalised their use, people under the age of sixteen were barred from operating E-Scooters, yet they do so routinely. There is a pattern here, the Government's rules say one thing and their lack of enforcement says another. The idea that an outright ban would do anything to discourage the already illegal behaviour is farcical.

Like every other recent measure the Government has taken on road safety, a ban is purely performative. They will not allocate the required resources to allow the enforcement of their rules, just as they did before E-Scooters were legalised. Without additional resources for enforcement, children will continue to be injured and the Government will simply wash their hands of it.”