E-scooter ban on public transport will be reviewed as early as next year

PUBLIC TRANSPORT FIRMS have pledged to enforce a new ban on bringing electric scooters onto public transport kicking in next week.

Iarnród Éireann says anyone caught with an e-scooter on a train will be liable for a €100 fine.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) imposed the ban on the increasingly popular devices over fears of fires, toxic fumes and explosions, which it says can be caused by e-scooters’ lithium-ion batteries. 

But sustainable transport campaigners say the measure – which enters force just months after the government legalised e-scooters – doesn’t make sense.

Jason Cullen, chair of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, said: “They’re either safe or they’re not safe. If the government is saying things are safe, we need our transport regulator to come on board.”

The NTA told The Journal it will review the ban early next year, within six months of it kicking in.

Cullen said he hoped this review would be meaningful, and would not merely be a “rubberstamping” exercise that would lead to an ongoing sequence of rolling bans without proper investigation of the risk posed.

What about taxis?

Despite the NTA’s belief that there is “considerable evidence” of e-scooters “posing a potential serious risk”, it has no plans to impose a similar ban on carrying e-scooters in taxis.

Meanwhile, Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus confirmed they’ll enforce the ban from next week.  Iarnród Éireannsaid it has already given its customers warning of the ban through leaflets and signs in stations.

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Dublin Bus added that passengers should be aware that even e-scooters that can be folded or carried are banned.

The ban will also apply on the Luas and on Bus Éireann.

The ‘last mile’ problem

Ireland’s disjointed public transport system means many commuters who bring e-scooters on public transport are using them to solve what’s known as the ‘last mile’ problem – how to get from your train or bus to work or home.

“People have gone out and bought [e-scooters] in good faith because the government went and regularised them – and then the NTA banned them four months later,” said Cullen, of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, which campaigns for better sustainable transport in the Dublin region.

He said the “really handy thing” about e-scooters is that they can be brought inside and kept safe when people reach their destination. They’re also relatively inexpensive, easy to use and not too high speed. The prevalence of bike theft in the capital acts as a deterrent to cycling to train stations.

The NTA has cited serious fires caused by e-scooters in cities including Madrid and London as the reason for the ban. London banned e-scooters (and e-unicycles) from its transport network in December 2021 after a serious fire on the Tube.

Cullen acknowledged these concerns, adding that the NTA’s review should fully investigate which models have caused fires and where they came from. He said a clear “roadmap” to resolving any issues identified would be needed.

He added that if the NTA believed there was a particular model that was not safe to bring on public transport then it should be made clear that this is also not safe for people to have in their homes.

E-bikes exempt

Although they have the same type of battery, the ban won’t apply to e-bikes, which are also becoming increasingly popular with Irish commuters.

The NTA says e-scooters’ batteries pose a greater hazard than those of electric bikes because they are lower to the ground so are at greater risk of being damaged.

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