Quality enforcement needed to keep e-scooters on public transport – Farrell

Better enforcement of quality standards in e-scooters is urgently needed to safeguard public transport options, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy Alan Farrell, Fine Gael Party Chairperson and Dublin Fingal East TD said “Cities across Europe, including in Madrid, Barcelona and London, are prohibiting the use of e-scooters on public transport as a result of the risk associated with lithium-ion batteries contained in them.

“While I accept there are issues regarding the safety standards of batteries being used in e-scooters, I also recognise that this is a product of the years of unregulated standards in this space.

“E-scooters provide an effective, environmentally friendly way of completing the last kilometre of a journey, often after disembarking from a bus, a train or a Luas. To ban them from our transport network will only discourage people from availing of these methods of transportation.

“Furthermore, enacting this would oppose existing policies that aim to improve multi-modal forms of transport, which intends to provide seamless and efficient connectivity for commuters. A solution to these issues exists without requiring a ban of e-scooters from the public transport network.

“I believe that the introduction of a clampdown on the sale of substandard devices and ongoing checkpoints for these vehicles will allow us to identify and seize vehicles that do not meet the standards set out by the EU. Moreover, increased controls and supervision on imports can present an opportunity to prevent entry of non-compliant vehicles and batteries”.

Deputy Farrell, Fine Gael Dáil spokesperson on Justice, continued: “Many e-scooters on the roads today are compliant, and we should not penalise these individuals by banning access to public transport, we can prevent and route out those that are not compliant with current standards.

“Recently introduced legislation was a much-needed step in providing clarity and regulations to e-scooter use in Ireland. However, I believe that to ban them from public transport would be against the underlying principles of that legislation and would not address the underlying causes of sub-standard and non-compliant technology entering the marketplace.” Deputy Farrell concluded.