Legislation to allow e-scooters on Irish roads could be concluded before Christmas following approval from the Irish government.
The Road Traffic and Roads Bill, which will include provisions for e-scooter usage, was approved by cabinet and will now go before the Oireachtas.
Earlier this year, Dublin City Council consulted with micromobility firms and asked for information on how e-scooters would operate in the Republic of Ireland. More than 20 operators have expressed interest in launching shared services in Dublin as well as in other towns and cities. These include international companies such as Dott, Tier, Voi, Bird, Bolt and Superpedestrian.
“With this strong legislation approved by cabinet – we are one step closer to not only legally having e-scooters in Ireland, but also ensuring the country has the safest e-scooter regime in Europe,” said Benjamin Bell, Tier’s director of public policy for northern Europe.
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Irish firms Zipp Mobility, Bleeper and Zeus have also put their hats in the ring.
E-scooters are described in the bill as “a powered personal transporter” and their maximum design speed is prescribed to be “no less than six kilometres per hour and no more than 25 kilometres per hour.” Local authorities will be given the power to set a lower 20km/h speed limit using geofencing technology.
Minister for transport, Eamon Ryan, said: “We committed in the programme for government to resolving legal barriers to the use of e-scooters, as well as e-bikes, and this Bill will deliver on both of those commitments.”
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