KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the Transport Ministry’s ban on micromobility vehicles on public roads since last year, motorists in the city centre say users are still driving these on the roads here. They complain that the vehicles, especially escooters, were being driven on roads in and around the Kuala Lumpur city centre, inadvertently causing a nuisance to other road users.
Taxi driver Badrul Abrul Rahman said the escooters were mostly seen on main roads during peak hours and weekends.
“It can frustrating as the scooters sometimes just appear out of nowhere and squeeze between cars.
“We have to constantly avoid them (especially during peak hour traffic) while being on guard for other vehicles at the same time.
“I have also seen users riding the escooters at high speed along Jalan P. Ramlee here without regard for other vehicles in the area,” said the 51-year-old when met.
A motorist, who wanted to be known only Wong, said he had noticed the escooters being driven on a stretch of Jalan Sultan Ismail on several occasions.
“I normally observe this during the weekends and peak hours. Most of the times, they are driven by foreign tourists.
“I don’t understand why they choose to ride them on the main roads when they can do so on the paved walkways,” he said, adding that the presence of escooters on the road also made his daily commute more challenging.
P-hailing rider Muhd Iqbal, 27, relayed a close call where he was almost hit by speeding escooters during a delivery.
“It happened at a pedestrian crossing along the Jalan P. Ramlee stretch.
“I scanned the road, looking out for cars, and was about to cross by foot.
“Suddenly, three escooters zoomed out in front of me,” he said, adding that the distance between him and the scooters was about an arm’s length.
“They sped off without saying anything.
“It’s not just the cars or motorbikes that we have to look out for now but also the escooters,” he lamented.
Observations in the Kuala Lumpur city centre also found several escooters parked indiscriminately on pedestrian walkways despite designated parking spots in place.
Several were also seen being ridden at high speed along the roads in the Bukit Bintang area.
In April 2022, the Transport Ministry announced a ban with immediate effect on the use of several types of micromobility vehicles on public roads.
It was enforced under the Road Traffic (Prohibition of Use of Certain Microbility Vehicles) Rules 2021.
This comprised mopeds, personal mobility devices including escooters, devices with internal combustion engines or propelled by human power as well as personal mobility aids.
It said the public could, however, use these devices but not on public roads where the vehicles would mix with other motor vehicles and put road users at risk.
The ministry also allowed the disabled community to use motorised wheelchairs on bicycle lanes and cross roads even where there are no zebra crossings.
