Ministry sets regulations for scooters

Emre Eser - ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry set up regulations for using scooters in traffic, which will be in force from the beginning of 2021.

As per the regulations, the maximum speed for a scooter will be 18 kilometers per hour.

People over 18 can ride scooters without any permit, people between the ages of 16 and 18 will be asked to have motorbike licenses and youngsters below 16 will not be allowed to ride, according to the new regulations.

An accompany on the scooter is not allowed according to the regulation. Scooters will not be permitted on pedestrian roads and pavements as well. There will be special scooter parks as the riders will not be allowed to leave their scooters on any sidewalks.

Scooters will also be prohibited on highways where the speed limits are higher than 50 kilometers, said the authorities.

“Our main goal is to establish globally competitive smart transport systems. For this, we have to specify the obligations for scooter riding. This is the way to move on with a sustainable and environmentalist insight,” said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaosmanoğlu.

The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) will be forming a scooter-renting system called “Çuf Çuf” through the medium of which scooter will be available at the train stations for rent, said the minister.

“Over three million residents ride scooters in Turkey, with 35,000 active scooters at the moment. Due to the pandemic, demand for alternative transportation and their presence in traffic has increased rapidly,” added the minister.

The debate about scooter-riding in Turkey started after the scooter-renting application “Martı,” which became popular in 2019.

New rules will be implemented on these scooter renters as well, said the minister. As per the regulations, a company will have to have 2,000 scooters and a capital of 500,000 Turkish Liras ($66,900). A company with indigenous software and products will be responsible for half of these criteria.

People who use scooters on a daily basis have been observed in 13 of all 81 provinces of the country, including Istanbul, İzmir and Ankara. Statistics also revealed that around 10 million trips that added up to 15 million kilometers on average belonged to people who commute by scooter, according to the official data.

In 2019, the size of the global scooter sector was $18.6 billion and it is being estimated that it will be over $300 billion by 2030.