Currently, electric kickboards are legally categorized as cars, which prevents them from being used on pedestrian or bicycle paths. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Electric kickboards will now be legally allowed on bicycle paths.
Although limited to certain areas and under strict regulations, electric kickboards are being legalized on bicycle paths for the very first time.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided on Wednesday to make a special exemption to allow kickboards on bicycle paths.
MaaS Asia Corp. and olulo Corp., two electric kickboard sharing service providers, made an earlier request to the ministry to make a special exemption for electric kickboards and allow them for rental and sharing services.
Currently, electric kickboards are legally categorized as cars, which prevents them from being used on pedestrian or bicycle paths. They also require drivers to acquire a proper driver’s license and wear protective gear.
These regulations, however, are usually disregarded. Cracking down on them, too, is not easy.
The ministerial committee responsible for the recent decision made a special consideration of the increasing number of kickboard riders, and allowed them on bicycle paths only if they follow the safety requirements set by the police.
The special exemption will allow MaaS Asia to test run kickboard rental and sharing services in areas near Hwaseong’s Dongtan Station, and olulo in Siheung’s Jeongwang Station area in Gyeonggi Province.
The ministry expects that the test run will provide them with the baseline data to develop standard regulations on safety and driving for electric kickboards and other personal mobility vehicles.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
