The Singapore Active Mobility Act Of 2017

Entered into law as of February 2017, Singapore’s Active Mobility Act 2017 sets out guidelines, regulations, and fines for the use of what is called a “PMD” over there — a Personal Mobility Device.

It’s the first law ever passed in the world acknowledging that personal electric transport is here to stay and that government should recognize it, permit its use, and modify public spaces to accommodate it.

Singapore makes a distinction between eScooters and the like (PMDs), and eBikes (PABs):

Singapore has a reputation of being a punitive nation. So it’s rather surprising to see it recognizing the future and embracing it. That’s not to say punishments set out in the bill can’t be harsh, however. Fines begin at S$1,000 and increase from there. Most people will never face those fines.

Overall, there is nothing at all draconian in the use of personal electric transport as long as the PMD and PAB complies with regulations specific to the Singapore market and law, as shown in these infographics:

And:

And this image from PassionGadgets.com adds some illustrations of PMDs that help clarify matters:

This law would be a good starting point for New York City to acknowledge personal electric transport. But with one change: Allowing eScooters, etc, to use designated bicycle lanes on city streets — and to use the sides of streets without such designations (as conventional bikes do). It’s still unclear to me if that’s prohibited in Singapore. I’ve seen one video today that showed a Xiaomi M365 eScooter using streets without any designated lane in Singapore (see below).

Codes of Conduct are mentioned for PMD/PAB drivers. But I haven’t gotten to those yet. It’s enough to start here. Which is a damn good beginning for other nations. Are you listening, United Nations? Are you listening, European Union? Are you listening, United States of America? All of you should!

I’ve placed a copy of the Singapore Active Mobility Act 2017 in my Google Drive [PDF link]. It’s over eighty pages of legalese that is rather easy to understand.

Riding electric scooter in Singapore