$7 million grant to help food delivery riders affected by e-scooter footpath ban

A $7 million grant has been introduced to help food delivery riders replace their electric scooters, after the Government banned the devices from footpaths earlier this week.

Under this scheme, food delivery riders who trade in their existing e-scooters will receive up to $1,000 each to buy a power-assisted bicycle, or $600 for a bicycle.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Friday (8 November) said the Government and three major food delivery companies set up this e-scooter Trade-in Grant for affected delivery riders to switch to bicycles, power-assisted bicycles or personal mobility aids.

Riders can begin to trade in their e-scooters from next Friday.

The move comes in response to many food delivery riders raising their concerns over the footpath ban affecting their livelihoods. There are about 7,000 food delivery riders who use e-scooters, and groups of them have been meeting MPs since the ban took effect on Tuesday.

Grab, Deliveroo and Foodpanda will administer the new grant scheme, said the authorities, adding that they are also working with retailers to bulk purchase and bring down costs of these devices.

To qualify for the grant, which will be in place till 31 December, riders have to be existing e-scooter food delivery riders as of 7 November.

They will have to surrender their e-scooters at disposal points located at Grab, Deliveroo and Foodpanda premises.

The grant is one component of what MOT and LTA said was a transition assistance package to help affected riders.

NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) are working with the three food delivery companies to provide career services and job search support under the Adapt and Grow initiative, for riders who want to look for other jobs, MOT said in its statement.

Riders who may have immediate financial difficulties can seek temporary financial help from the Ministry of Social and Family Development's (MSF) and ComCare schemes, MOT said.

In a statement, the ministry said, "This decision to prohibit e-scooters from footpaths was a difficult one and arose because of many instances of irresponsible riding.

"Even as the delivery riders switch to other modes of transport, they should be mindful of safety both for themselves and other path and road users," the ministry added.

The footpath ban, announced in Parliament on Monday, is the latest and toughest measure yet to address public safety concerns surrounding the use of e-scooters.

Those caught flouting the rules can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to three months if convicted. From now until the end of the year, the authorities will mainly issue warnings to errant riders, but a zero-tolerance approach will be taken from next year.

After meeting about 50 riders at his Meet-the-People Session in Jurong Spring on Thursday night, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said their concerns are 'genuine Singaporean concerns'.

The riders had given him in a letter, which included their alternative proposals to the ban, such as needing a licence and a minimum age of 18 to ride a Personal Mobility Device (PMD).

There were also several PMD retailers present who delivered a letter of their own, asking for more shared paths and for PMDs to be allowed on roads.

Meanwhile, about 30 riders met Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam on Tuesday.

The Nee Soon GRC MP said after the meeting that he understood their position, and would convey their views to the Transport Ministry and the Cabinet.