Mexico City publishes regulations for electric scooters and e-bikes
Mexico City published regulations for scooters and bicycles that define how to operate and where they can be parked.
The Secretariat of Mobility of Mexico City (Semovi) officially announced the implementation of the regulation for electric bicycles and skateboards (scooters) without anchoring. After months of protests and a fatal accident, the pressure of the neighbors seems to have had an effect on Semovi, who declared the new rules for companies that operate these mobility services.
La Semovi published the regulations for "Sustainable Individual Transportation Systems" (SiTIS) in the Official Gazette of Mexico City. The new rules, which came into force from yesterday, contemplate the places where you can park the scooters and bicycles without anchoring.
Service providers such as Lime, Bird and other companies must have authorized arrival points. The trips cannot be completed outside the area of operation, a polygon that has been extended to Lomas de Virreyes, in the Miguel Hidalgo City Hall of Mexico City.
Where to park and where not to park
Users can park bicycles and scooters on the sidewalks, as long as there is no dedicated arrival point within a radius of 140 m and the sidewalks are at least 2.8 m high. Here you can park in the strip of urban and tree-lined furniture to guarantee the pedestrian crossing. They will not be able to park in the pedestrian strip, ramps, access to houses or public transportation stops. It is also prohibited to park in the spaces reserved for the Ecobici or those designated for people with disabilities.
The operators will have the obligation to relocate the scooters and bicycles in the authorized points in a period no longer than two hours, if the unit is stationed in the operation area, and up to eight hours if it is outside the mentioned polygon. To avoid problems of scooters lying on the asphalt, operators must ensure that the units include support or parador that allows them to stand on their own.
Companies must install a device that restricts the maximum speed to 25 km / h and all units must have a braking and lighting system to be recognized. It will also have to be labeled with an identification number and it is required to contract an insurance policy against accidents, as well as a clear communication protocol to assist users in these cases.
The owner of the Semovi, Andres Lajous, indicated that each operator can count up to 1,483 bicycles and 856 skateboards for use in the permitted areas contemplated by the municipalities of Benito Juarez, Miguel Hidalgo, and Cuauhtemoc. As of April 15, the requirements for other companies to participate in the SiTIS service will be published. Here the interested ones will have to offer information and later they will be analyzed by the Semovi.
An interesting part is that operators will be required to have an adhesion contract authorized by the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco), a body that supports users when there are abuses in the provision of a service. It has also been established that companies will not be able to use the dynamic rate or charge a trip of fewer than three minutes when a scooter does not work.
