Singles’ Day misery looms for Singapore’s e-scooter retailers due to new ban

Under the new ban, e-scooters will be confined to 440km of cycling paths island-wide, instead of 5,500km of footpaths

Retailers bought extra stocks of PMDs but some fear they are now ‘unsellable’ as a result of the ban

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Under the new ban, e-scooters will be confined to 440km of cycling paths island-wide, instead of 5,500km of footpaths. Photo: Handout

Published: 11:34am, 8 Nov 2019Updated: 11:34am, 8 Nov 2019

Some had brought in “hundreds of thousands of dollars” worth of electric scooters in preparation for one of Singapore’s biggest sales events of the year, next week’s Singles’ Day, but now these retailers fear the worst.

The scooters are compliant with the safety standards introduced by the authorities but could now be “unsellable”, the retailers said, following the ban on the use of e-scooters on footpaths which came into effect on Tuesday.

PMD Retailers Association of Singapore president Wilson Seng said retailers had increased stocks of UL2272-certified models – a safety standard that will reduce the risk of fires – after the Land Transport Authority in August brought forward the deadline for users to comply.

Personal mobility device (PMD) users have to ensure their devices meet the UL2272 standard by July 1 next year – six months before the original deadline of January 1, 2021.

“Retailers are now stuck with all these ready stocks. Who is going to buy now?” asked Seng, who called the new legislation “untimely”, asked.

Ifrey Lai, 49, managing director of Mobot store, said he had brought in “S$400,000 worth [US$294,000]” of stocks just for the year-end sales.