Guide Dogs Foundation supports e-scooter ban

The Malta Guide Dogs Foundation (MGDF) fully supports the Transport Ministry’s decision to ban rental e-scooters from 1 March 2024, the organisation said on Saturday.

It said visual impaired persons have been put at risk because of the carelessness and lack of discipline of the hundreds of e-scooter users.

“Apart from parking indiscriminately, these users travel on pavements and, since their scooters are practically silent, there is no warning that they are approaching vulnerable persons,” the MGDF said, adding it has long advocated for the ban of e-scooters.

“This is a positive initiative that increases the security of pedestrians, including visually impaired persons, both guide dog handlers and white cane users,” Joseph Stafrace, Chairman of the MGDF said. “Since the MGDF trains both guide dog handlers and white cane users, e-scooter users are damaging its valuable work through these actions.”

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia announced last week that a ban on rental e-scooters will come into force in March next year. People will still be able to use personal e-scooters.

The decision was welcomed in certain quarters where rental e-scooters have been a nuisance to residents and pedestrians but slammed by environmentalists and the cycling community that called for proper road infrastructure and enforcement.

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