The Big Read: Errant use of PMAs is a real menace, but tackling it is less straightforward than you think

SINGAPORE: For about 20 years, Mr Michael Kuan, who was born with spina bifida and has neurological and urological issues, has been using a motorised wheelchair to get around.
But this user of a personal mobility aid (PMA) has become increasingly frustrated with the seemingly growing number of able-bodied young people using these devices, which are intended to assist those with mobility challenges.
Mr Kuan is especially concerned about errant riders who whizz around on their PMAs, particularly mobility scooters, often without sparing a thought for the safety of other road users.
“Their (scooters) are so wide that my PMA cannot pass when they come at me from the opposite direction of the pedestrian path,” said the 49-year-old, who is the chief executive of a company that provides coaching programmes for corporate employees and individuals.
“Also these users are really aggressive and rude at times when they collide with me or if I do not give way to them.”
Rogue PMA users are also drawing the ire of pedestrians, such as young mother of two Nur Hidayah Ahssan.
The 28-year-old Yew Tee resident has had many near-miss incidents with PMA users who zoomed past her from behind without any signal, missing her by “just a few centimetres”.
Sometimes they speed towards her on the footpath, forcing her to give way.
“A couple of times, I had to move the stroller with my kid onto the grass patch because I had to give way to them,” said the research assistant at a tertiary institution.
The issue of errant PMA users, particularly those riding three- or four-wheeled mobility scooters, has been in the spotlight recently after a few incidents of bad behaviour came to light.
In one incident last month, an altercation between a 49-year-old woman and a group of PMA riders outside a condominium in Sembawang reportedly turned physical after she shouted at one of them to slow down after they sped past her.
The police told TODAY that the woman had minor injuries, while four people are “assisting with investigations for voluntarily causing hurt and intentional harassment”.
While there are no publicly available statistics on PMA users here —  they are not required to register such devices with the authorities — it is becoming more common to see people who look young and able-bodied bolting around on such mobility scooters in public.
And official data does show that the number of accidents and incidents involving PMAs has increased.
There were nine off-road accidents involving PMAs in just the first half of the year, most resulting in minor or no injuries, compared with 11 in all of 2022 and 16 in 2023, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in response to TODAY’s queries.
In the first half of 2024 alone, nine people were caught for riding PMAs on roads, more than the total cases in 2022 (three) and 2023 (four).
In fact, growing concerns over the misuse and abuse of PMAs led the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (Amap) to propose in December 2023 several measures to regulate their usage, which have been accepted by the authorities.
However, these new rules will only take effect by the end of 2025, to give users and retailers time to adjust and comply. During this transition period, MOT and LTA will also iron out the details of the regulations. 
While this transition period may feel a tad too long for those who have had unpleasant encounters with errant PMA riders, transport and mobility experts said that it is important to take the time to get the rules right, as this is a complex issue involving many stakeholders.
And although Singapore has had experience in swiftly restricting the use of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) amid safety concerns several years ago, Personal Mobility Aids represent a different challenge as they involve users with actual medical needs for them, said the experts. Hence, the same approach cannot be applied to PMAs.
“Based on past experience, it is prudent to proceed cautiously with any implementation of new regulations on the use of the motorised mobility scooters on normal footpaths,” said transport engineering consultant Gopinath Menon.
PMAs include manual wheelchairs, motorised wheelchairs and mobility scooters — but it is the scooters which seem to be frequently misused by able-bodied users.
Anecdotal evidence from retailers and footpath users, as well as observations by TODAY, point to a growing usage of PMAs among seemingly able-bodied riders.
Tampines resident Jason Tan, 47, said there are more PMA riders than PMD riders at the park connector near his home.
The professional stunt driver added that he is more worried about speeding PMAs such as scooters than PMDs, as the mobility aids are much heavier.
“To use an analogy, it will be like a lorry hitting a pedestrian, compared to a motorcycle hitting a pedestrian,” Mr Tan said.
A 36-year-old marketer who lives in Sembawang and wanted to be known only as Ms X T Koh said she has also seen more and more mobility scooter users zooming around in the northern parts of Singapore, which she frequents.
“Some people are also using PMAs as family transport. I’ve seen a family of four including two children all on one PMA, speeding down the pavement,” she added.
Pedestrians who have young children or live with elderly parents told TODAY that they also worry for their vulnerable family members when they are out in public.
Mr Alex Chin, a 39-year-old Bishan resident, estimated that about four in 10 PMA users in his neighbourhood look young or able-bodied, though he personally has not had any bad experiences with them so far.
TODAY visited several neighbourhoods over the past week and observed on average 10 PMA users per hour in each neighbourhood, though the profile mix of the users varied.
At Toa Payoh Central for example, all users spotted on Sunday afternoon (Aug 11) were visibly old or frail, though residents there told TODAY that it was not uncommon to spot healthier-looking users riding mobility scooters some days.
“We often see so many youngsters in the area taking PMAs for joyrides,” said 84-year-old retiree Joseph Mudiappan, who himself has been using a mobility scooter for two years upon a doctor’s advice.
Around the perimeter of Northpoint City in Yishun near dinner time on Sunday, about a dozen mobility scooters were spotted parked at specific spots set aside for food delivery riders to park their vehicles.
One elderly food delivery rider was seen walking with a limp towards his PMA, while a handful of others, who were younger, could be seen walking briskly after dismounting from, or when heading back towards their vehicles.
This reporter was even asked, politely, by one young rider to give way as he zoomed through a series of zig-zag barriers meant to make mobility device users slow down.
Two retailers specialising in PMAs — Falcon Mobility and DNR Wheels — said their customers are mainly the elderly or those with medical needs.
But a shopkeeper at a third retailer in northern Singapore selling both PMAs and PMDs said about four in 10 of the business’ customers are young or do not show any sign of walking difficulties. He asked to remain anonymous and not name his shop as he did not have his employer’s permission to speak to the media.
Mr Ian Tang, who suffered a stroke in 2018 and has been using a motorised wheelchair for half a year, is concerned that errant PMA riders are giving legitimate users a bad name.
“It’s when these tools are misused, abused or used by unpleasant people that causes all PMA users to be painted with the same brush,” said the 42-year-old who works as a specialist at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).
“PMAs are an important tool to help PWDs (persons with disabilities) and mobility challenged elderly to participate in the community and reduce social isolation.”
Currently, only non-motorised devices and motorised PMAs are allowed on shared footpaths. Motorised PMDs can only be used along cycling paths, while electric bikes can only be used on the roads.
Because of the restrictions on PMDs, some able-bodied delivery riders have adopted PMAs as an efficient means of carrying out their work. 
Mr Peter Chen, 36, uses a mobility scooter to carry out food delivery as he cannot cycle for long distances due to his asthma.
“Using e-bicycles on the road would be more dangerous for me,” he said when TODAY met him outside Sun Plaza in Sembawang.
Part-time food delivery Eugene Teoh, 55, tried using an e-bike for a few months before switching to a PMA.
He said being constantly on the lookout for hazards on the road such as speeding vehicles, impatient drivers and zigzagging motorcycles “drains you mentally”.
Security officer Ahmad Ithnin, 34, began using a mobility scooter about a year ago as it halves his daily commuting time. The scooter also allows him to do food delivery part-time to earn the extra income he needs, as his first child is due to arrive soon.
Switching to a motorcycle is not an option as he does not have a licence, which he feels is costly to obtain.
All three riders were aware of the public’s generally negative view of PMA users like themselves, who do not have a medical need for the device.
But they told TODAY that they try their best not to behave badly while riding their PMAs.
“It cannot be helped. Any type of vehicle will also have their black sheep. I just try not to be one of those errant ones myself,” said Mr Ahmad.
Mr Teoh said he makes it a point to “horn in advance … slow down when there are pedestrians or others on the travelling path”.
“And always practise courtesy — apologise and say thank you (where necessary),” he added.
Food delivery platform operators were unable to say how many of their riders used PMAs.
Foodpanda said that its delivery partners are asked to indicate their vehicle type, including the usage of PMAs, which will then be taken into consideration when assigning orders.
“For instance, PMA users are assigned orders with a shorter delivery distance,” said the company’s spokesperson.
One concern that has been raised by food delivery riders is that the upcoming new rules on PMAs will slow down their deliveries, resulting in fewer deliveries completed and lower incomes.
This is because the rules include decreasing the speed limit for all motorised PMAs from 10kmh to 6kmh.
Riders who do not have mobility issues but are unable to use other means of transport, meanwhile, worry about the fact that the rules will require PMA users to obtain a certificate to prove that they have trouble walking.
Executive secretary of the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA) Jean See said that the organisation is aware that some riders use PMAs for deliveries due to medical reasons, but it does not maintain records of the transportation modes used by its members.
“For our able-bodied riders, we have always encouraged them to choose more appropriate modes of transport for deliveries. These could be bicycles or travelling by foot for shorter distances,” said Ms See, who is also director of NTUC Freelancers and Self-Employed (U FSE) unit.
Some delivery riders like Mr Chen said that he is hoping that he will still be allowed to use his PMA next year on account of his asthma, even if it means completing fewer deliveries due to the slower speed limit.
“If (there’s) no choice, then I will have to buy a PMD to do deliveries. I’ll have to consider first before switching,” he said.
The journey to restrict the usage of PMAs has been gradual:
If many other delivery riders plan to do the same as Mr Chen, there will be wider implications: There could be a rise in PMD-related offences and accidents, said transport and mobility experts, adding that this should be monitored closely.
According to the Ministry of Transport (MOT), between January and October 2023, there were about 1,200 PMD-related offences compared to four PMA-related offences.
Transport economist Walter Theseira said: “There is clearly high demand for a convenient, low-cost, moderate-speed and motorised local transportation device.
“We saw that with the use of PMDs, and we see it again with PMAs. You can regulate it but that demand doesn’t go away,” said the associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
In their joint response to TODAY, MOT and LTA said that through their engagements with various stakeholders, they found that the stakeholders generally agreed with the Amap recommendations “but emphasised the need to provide sufficient lead time for affected riders”.
“This is why the government provided a transition period of at least a year, for the new requirements to kick in by the end of 2025,” they said.
Experts agreed regulations are necessary, though it is no simple matter as many factors have to be weighed:
Medical needs
PMAs are “considerably different” from PMDs, in the sense that the former are meant to help people with a genuine, medical need for assistance to move around, said Dr Samuel Chng from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
Thus, the timeline and manner of implementation of the PMA regulations must be done in a way that it doesn’t inadvertently exclude people who really need it, said Dr Chng, who heads the Urban Psychology Lab in the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the university.
For example, the threshold for what kind of medical condition allows a person to use PMAs or otherwise may require some time to be standardised and communicated.
Avoiding losses for retailers
The government has to strike a balance between implementing rules and giving shops time to phase out their inventory, said Assistant Professor Terence Fan from the Singapore Management University (SMU).
“Retailers who have bought PMAs with a speed limit above 6kmh would need time to sell their existing stock, as the regulator is clearly not offering any compensation to them should they not be able to sell these stocks before the full implementation of the speed limit,” he said.
When the authorities abruptly banned the use of e-scooters on shared paths with effect from Nov 5, 2019, amid a spate of serious accidents, a S$7 million grant was introduced to help delivery riders transit to other forms of transportation.
But retailers at that time bemoaned the “hundreds of thousands of dollars” worth of e-scooters, which they had just brought in for “Singles’ Day” sale on Nov 11 that year, that suddenly became “unsellable”. 
This time round, Mr Warren Chew, managing director of Falcon Mobility, said his firm has already reprogrammed the PMAs they have on hand to comply with the lower speed limit. He has also informed his suppliers to supply devices that meet the requirements going forward.
But TODAY’s checks on a few online sellers and one physical store found that they are still selling higher-speed PMAs. These retailers did not respond to TODAY’s queries on what they are planning to do to adapt to the new rules.
“Empathy” for riders
The government is aware that a number of able-bodied people are using PMAs for “bread and butter” purposes, said Mr Saktiandi Supaat, chair for the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport.
Hence, the new regulations must be implemented in a way that reduces their impact on these people’s livelihoods as much as possible, he said.
“So in some ways, there’s a bit of empathy there, in giving them time to find alternatives,” said Mr Saktiandi, who is also a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency.
In its statement to TODAY, MOT and LTA said they will work with food delivery platforms and NDCA “on how they will be able to support affected food delivery riders in making the transition”.
Education and enforcement
Effective implementation of regulations would require user awareness of the rules, which can take time to happen, noted Dr Maria Cecilia Rojas Lopez from SUSS. 
“We should also consider that the extended time frame will also allow the enforcers to educate themselves on the regulations and perhaps even incorporate the use of technology to ensure regulations are being complied with,” said the senior lecturer, whose research interests include transport planning.
MOT and LTA said that during the transition period, they will consult medical professionals to firm up the details of the certification process for PMA users with genuine mobility needs. Such users will then be given time to obtain their certifications.
Beyond regulations, Dr Chng said what is just as important, but more difficult, is to foster the right mindset and culture on the road.
“Then it becomes inculcated into us. It goes on to the next generation, and we won’t be talking about the same issue five years later when another accident happens or new mobility devices come out,” he said. 
The article was originally published in TODAY.