Almost two years after the so-called personal mobility vehicles (VMP), with the electric scooter as the main reference, began to take center stage in the capital Malaga, the City Council still does not order their operation precisely. The process of drafting and approving a specific ordinance has almost become an odyssey that, now, seems to be nearing completion.
The Mobility area plans to publish the full text of the new regulations today on the Málaga Contesta portal for fifteen days for it to be submitted to suggestions by interested groups and entities. This was confirmed to this newspaper by the area councilor, José del Río, who indicated that once that period is over and you answer the observations, it will be the moment when the ordinance passes through the Local Government Board and, finally, through the Plenary.
However, and even though the procedures are taking much longer than initially contemplated by the government team, Del Río is confident that the final ratification will take place in the plenary session next July. The only regulation that the capital has regarding scooters is the side that the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, signed in April of last year. In this text, a series of vehicle parking points are delimited, being subject to a fine to leave it in another location.
While waiting to know its content in detail, the objective set by the City Council is to remove the scooters from the sidewalks, minimizing the risk that their circulation implies for pedestrians. Added to this is the obligation for drivers to be equipped with a helmet and reflective vest if they travel on roads of 50 kilometers per hour. Although initially it was intended to avoid its circulation through the basic network, one of the last municipal bets has been to define lanes shared with private traffic but with limited speed.
The minimum age
required to be able to circulate with one of these vehicles is 16 years old. If they are younger, they will have to be accompanied by an adult or guardian. These requirements apply to type A personal mobility vehicles, which include smaller and lighter wheels, platforms, and electric scooters, with a maximum mass of 25 kilometers and one meter in length; and b, which are platforms and electric scooters of up to 50 kilos and 1.9 meters in length. These devices will always have to comply with minimum technical conditions, in the case of brake systems, bell, front and rear lights, and reflective elements.
The City Council also wants to oblige scooter rental companies to keep customer pricing active until stations in designated places or to set up a system that stops the scooter if a driver decides to enter forbidden spaces. They will also be required to have a physical location and a 24-hour mobile phone.