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Unruly renters give us bad name, say e-scooter owners
Fun travel: People on electric scooters ride along the sidewalk on Jl
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un travel: People on electric scooters ride along the sidewalk on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, on Nov. 3. The Jakarta administration plans to set operational hours of 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. for e-scooters.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Long before electric scooter (e-scooter) rental services were available, Andi Fachri used his own micro mobility vehicle for the first leg of his daily commute.
He regularly commutes from his house in Ampera, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, using an e-scooter before continuing his trip on the MRT to his office near Bunderan HI Station in Central Jakarta.
Before the MRT was up and running, he had to take an app-based ojek (motorcycle taxi) to work each day.
However, a recent accident that caused the deaths of two e-scooter riders in Sudirman, Central Jakarta, has given rise to questions about the safety of micro mobility vehicles, prompting the city administration to make plans for a regulation to restrict their use.
Commenting on the accident, Fachri said people were still so excited about e-scooter rental services, such as GrabWheels, that they were reckless when it came to safety. “Since then, I haven’t been too keen to ride my e-scooter,” Fachri said.
The city is currently drafting a gubernatorial decree on micro mobility vehicles such as skateboards, inline skates, conventional scooters and e-scooters.
The decree, according to Jakarta Transportation Agency traffic management head Priyanto, will limit the use of micro mobility vehicles to bike lanes within certain areas. Such vehicles will not be allowed on footbridges and must not exceed 20 kilometers per hour.
The Jakarta Bina Marga road agency has blamed e-scooters for damaging sidewalks and footbridges in Sudirman.
In addition, riders will be expected to comply with safety rules, such as wearing a helmet, and must follow traffic
regulations.
Riders caught violating the rules could be fined up to Rp 500,000 (US$35).
Another e-scooter user, Albert Kosasih, agreed that e-scooters should not be used on sidewalks as they disrupted pedestrians.
“However, the available bike lanes are not yet sufficient, as they have not been provided in most parts of the city. Moreover, even in places where bike lanes are available, they are often used by angkot [public minivans] or ojek to pick up or drop off passengers,” Albert said.
He said the number of bike lanes needed to be increased so using e-scooters could be a viable form of transportation.
Albert travels by e-scooter from Radio Dalam to Kemang in South Jakarta as part of his daily commute, but usually completes his journey with public transportation.
“I ride it to the MRT. It has helped reduce [my commute] time, such as when I have a meeting near Jl. MH Thamrin,” Albert said.
He said e-scooter owners were more careful than people who rented ones.
“As owners, we already know how to ride safely without disturbing other road users. We get a bad name when e-scooter renters ride everywhere without following the rules or disturb other road users,” Albert said.
E-scooter communities are encouraging riders to be mindful of their conduct, including Komunitas Skutis Indonesia, which recently published a code of ethics for e-scooter riders.
“This code of ethics provides safety guidelines for riding e-scooters on public roads,” Zulfahmi Ramli of Komunitas Skutis Indonesia said on Tuesday.
The code of ethics outlines several safety measures, such as wearing a helmet at all times, advising caution on the roads and prioritizing other road users, as well as reminding riders to be mindful of general traffic etiquette.
Zulfahmi said the Jakarta administration, in particular the city’s Transportation Agency, should not rush to create regulations that restricted e-scooter usage.
“In response to one or two cases that went viral, the government plans to issue a regulation without proper research that could harm the public’s interest, [as] e-scooter owners used this [vehicle] before GrabWheels [existed],” Zulfahmi said.
Zulfahmi said the government should outline clear specification standards for e-scooters, designate areas e-scooters are permitted to be used and set clear speed limits and safety standards.
Separately, transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno of Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, Central Java, said any regulation on e-scooters must prioritize the safety of riders and other road users, instead of simply creating restrictions.
Djoko said e-scooters could support other means of public transportation by making it easier for commuters to reach railway stations and bus stops.
“They can be used for the first leg and last leg of a trip,” He said.
Djoko said the government, including the Transportation Ministry, needed to regulate e-scooters to prevent more casualties, as the vehicle was not included in the 2009 Traffic Law.
He said a ministerial level regulation could be used by regional administrations as a reference point to develop rules appropriate to local conditions.
