SINGAPORE — Amid intense public debate over the safety of personal mobility devices (PMDs), the authorities have again delayed handing out licences to firms seeking to operate PMD-sharing services. This is the second time in four months they have done so.

The results were to have been announced by the end of September, having already been postponed from the second quarter of the year.

PMDs include electric scooters, hoverboards and unicycles.

Responding to media queries on Monday (Sept 30), a spokesperson for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the agency would announce the results of the “PMD and bicycle-sharing operator licences at a later date”.

In the meantime, LTA will consult device-sharing and rental companies on extra regulations to improve public safety, the spokesperson added.

“This is part of a review to extend safety measures to all electric-scooter sharing and rental companies, as they provide devices that are more easily accessible to the public, including less experienced riders,” the spokesperson said.

For example, some people have suggested rolling out “locally developed trackers” to monitor the speed and location of the vehicles to ensure that riders are not using them on the roads.

However, the authority noted that there are difficulties dogging the roll-out of such technology. These include ensuring that the speed-tracking device is tamper-proof and its location data is accurate. These challenges “have to be studied further”, the spokesperon said.

Under the law, PMDs cannot be used on roads. They are allowed only on footpaths and shared pathways, such as cycling paths and park-connector networks.

In February, 14 companies submitted applications to operate PMD-sharing services under “sandbox licences” here.

Sandbox licences allow operators to have small fleets so that LTA may assess their operations and ability to meet regulatory requirements, before they are considered for fully fledged licences to run large-scale operations.

The firms vying for the licence include Singapore start-ups Telepod and Neuron Mobility, and American e-scooter firm Lime.

LTA previously pushed back the announcement from the second quarter of the year to the third quarter because it needed more time to review “imposing additional requirements on licensees to ensure the safety of users and the general public”, amid instances of reckless riding and accidents.

The menace has since continued unabated: Last Tuesday morning, a 30-year-old man died after falling off his e-scooter on Tanah Merah Coast Road.

A day later, a 65-year-old woman, Ong Bee Eng, succumbed to her injuries after her bicycle collided with a PMD. Ong’s death reignited calls for a ban on these mobility vehicles and for tougher controls, including ensuring that all vehicles have speed-limiting features.

Last Friday, the Active Mobility Advisory Panel — which looks into rules governing the use of PMDs, bicycles and other equipment — said that it has urged the Government to mandate a theory test, ban the use of mobile phones unless they are mounted or used in a hands-free manner, and set a minimum age requirement of 16 for all e-scooter riders on public paths.

Those below 16 can ride under adult supervision.

Its recommendations also included mandating that businesses procure third-party liability insurance — which allows victims to file claims for damages — to cover e-scooter riders who use the vehicles for work.