Electric scooters: parking nuisance that has stumped residents and motorists

If one of those e-scooters is blocking your walkway, pavement, or even taken up an irregular spot in a parking bay for cars, what should you exactly do? That is a new question added to the daily list of ‘first world’ problems for Maltese parents walking with their children, prams, and even motorists who need to shift a scooter from taking up space in a parking bay.

Bolt Malta has said that it will look to address complaints on the irregular parking of its electric rental scooters on public walkways and pavements.

“Bolt is taking all complaints related to any of our services seriously. Each received complaint is being tackled separately,” it said.

Over the last two weeks, many have taken to social media to complain on the manner in which the electric scooters are haphazardly parked across the island.

Social media users posted photos of the scooters obstructing pavements, roads and even garage entrances.

People looking to rent the electric scooters can do so by locating one on the Bolt app, and unlocking it by scanning a QR code. Once users are finished from using the service, they can park the scooter and leave.

Asked whether Bolt should provide users with racks for the scooters to be parked in, the company said it is doing its best to inform users on the correct use of the scooters. “We are doing the best we can to avoid any inconveniences to people and to inform the general public of the correct use of e-scooters and the local regulations,” it said.

“This includes an integrated system to report any nuisance related to our e-scooters, a video campaign that explains the best way to avoid disturbances to other people when using Bolt’s e-scooters, and various blog articles on our homepage.”

The company is also working with local authorities and councils to resolve any issues and provide the best possible service.

“Where issues are being reported to us, we are more than happy to remove the nuisance or help with resolving the occurred issues, however, it is of utmost importance that riders responsibly comply with any regulations and rules when using e-scooters,” it said.

According to micro-mobility legislation, “electric kick scooters may be parked on pavements and promenades or on footpaths and in pedestrian zones but not in such a manner as to obstruct the free flow of pedestrian traffic.”

“In such roads where there are no spaces specifically designated and marked for such purpose, e-kickscooters  may  be parked on the road in a perpendicular position to the pavement but not in such a manner as to occupy a parking space which is specifically designated and marked for the parking of other types of vehicles.”

Under current legislation, e-scooter users must also register and licence their vehicle with Transport Malta, against the payment of an administrative fee of €10. The owner must also be in possession of a legally valid identification document, plate and licence disc for the vehicle to be used.

The Transport Malta website states that “no person shall ride an e-scooter on the road unless that person has reached the age of 16 years and has satisfied the Authority that he or she has some knowledge of the Highway Code through a theory test.”