A food delivery rider tio orh gong after “accidentally” riding into the footpath because he was rushing to deliver his food order, reported Zaobao.
As a result of his “accident” (he claimed that it is an accident lah), he was fined $600. “Money sibei pai than” (money very hard to earn), said the delivery rider.
The 57-year-old food delivery rider whose surname is Sun told reporters that he was recently caught in the act by the Junction Electronic Eyes (J-Eyes) because he was riding on the footpath. After which, he received a fine of $600 from the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
According to the saman (fine ticket), the food delivery rider was fined $300 for using an electric bicycle on the footpath in front of Block 676 Yishun Avenue 4. In addition, he was also issued an extra $300 fine for speeding. Both fines, added up to $600 in total, must be paid by 6 December or he will have to go to court.
The food delivery rider said that many delivery riders will use the footpath because it’s a shortcut for them as it saves time and effort.
Should more protection be given to Self-Employed Person and freelancers like our delivery riders?
He said, “If we don’t use the footpath, we’ll have to take the longer route. Compare to using shortcuts, it would be a waste of time and it will affect our income”.
When the reporter visited the scene last Sunday (30 October) to observe, the reporter noticed that the footpath is nearly two meters wide, and many pedestrians and bicycle users will share it, including many food delivery riders.
The food delivery rider said that after being taught a lesson now, he will avoid using it in the future and also pay attention to his speed, “After I received the fine ticket, I found out that there was a warning sign on the footpath, stating that riding was not allowed, but the location was not obvious and it can be easily ignored.”
Use of PMDs banned on footpaths
In 2019, it was announced that all e-scooters and e-bikes will be banned on footpaths.
This measure kicked in after there were a lot of accidents involving motorised e-scooters. Reportedly, there were 228 accidents involving PMDs on public paths in 2017 and 2018, with 196 resulting in injuries.
E-scooter who knocked down woman in Bedok and fled arrested by the Police
It even resulted in death.
In September 2019, a 65-year-old cyclist, Madam Ong Bee Eng, died in hospital after she was seriously injured in an e-scooter accident in Bedok.
Later, in April 2020, the footpath ban was extended to other motorised PMDs, such as hoverboards and electric unicycles.
E-scooter/PMD riders who use their e-scooters/PMDs on a pedestrian-only path, footpath, or road can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to 3 months.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to 6 months.
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