A new bill regulating the movement of individual mobility devices, including e-scooters and bicycles, will introduce penalties for speeding, carrying passengers, riding under the influence of alcohol, and using smartphones while riding, announced Artem Sheikin, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building.
The bill was submitted to the State Duma for consideration on April 17 and has already received positive feedback from the government. The first reading is scheduled for June.
Sheikin explained that the primary changes introduced by the new legislation include a ban on carrying passengers on scooters, adherence to speed limits, and a prohibition on riding under the influence of alcohol. These violations will incur fines.
Sanctions for using smartphones while riding may be added to the bill by the second reading in the State Duma, the senator clarified.
He added that since 2020, the number of individual mobility devices in Russia has increased fivefold, and the number of trips has increased twelvefold. As of early 2023, there were 192,000 individual mobility devices available for rent, with 40,000 in Moscow alone.
With the increase in the number of individual mobility devices, the number of accidents involving them has also risen. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of accidents involving individual mobility devices increased sixfold from 2021 to 2023, Sheikin concluded.
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