Collective farm monsters: courier electric bicycles offered to be removed from sidewalks

The Public Chamber of Russia (CC RF) discussed the problem of two-wheeled delivery trucks with electric motors that do not follow traffic rules and crash into pedestrians on sidewalks. How they propose to limit their movement is described in the Izvestia article.

According to the data of the Scientific Center for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation announced at the round table of the OP, almost half (42.9%) of accidents involving electric bicycle deliverymen account for this type of transport. In nine months, 920 accidents occurred, in which 25 people were killed and 926 injured.

Silent threat

— We are still underestimating the threat from electric bicycles, and this is not such a harmless story," says the head of the city legislative assembly's transport commission St. Petersburg Alexey Tsivilev. According to him, even in a collision at a speed of 25 km / h, pedestrian injuries will be like falling from a seven-meter height.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Tatiana Polevaya

Vladimir Korobchak, chairman of the Krasnodar branch of the All-Russian Society of Motorists, drew attention to the noiselessness of the electric bike, which is why pedestrians cannot notice it in time.

According to the MAKS Association of Transport, Logistics and Postal Courier Companies, there are 14,000 electric bike couriers in St. Petersburg and 35-40 thousand in Moscow. In the capital, 25,000 couriers make 650,000 trips daily, mostly on bicycles with electric motors, according to the Moscow Directorate of Transport Services.

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Almost a motorcycle

According to MAKS, the majority of electric bicycles are privately owned: in the capital, 75% versus 25% of kicksharing, in St. Petersburg - 85% versus 15% of kicksharing. The Jetson Monster Pro with a 1.2 kW motor and a speed of 45 km/h has become the most popular means of transportation for couriers. However, according to Russian law, the electric bike motor must not be more powerful than 0.25 kW and must automatically turn off at speeds above 25 km/h.

Thus, "Jetsons" belong to the category of mopeds, that is, they cannot move along sidewalks and pedestrian zones. To travel on them, the deliverer needs a helmet and a Russian driver's license, as he carries out commercial activities, said Alexander Kholodov, a member of the Public Chamber's commission for cooperation with the Public Monitoring Commission (POC).

Photo: RIA Novosti/Kirill Zykov

— If the speed is above 50 km/h, then it is a motorcycle. This means that registration with the traffic police is mandatory, with license plates, category A in the driver's license, and, of course, no sidewalks," he said.

Alexander Kholodov also drew attention to the fact that tuning an electric bike is not even prohibited: no one prevents you from buying one model and converting it to another. In addition, some couriers erect entire "houses" on their vehicles.

— Tuned "monster farmers" are quite difficult to control, — says Alexander Mityukov, President of the association (MAKS).

Starting in May, they will travel slowly

Alyona Dosayeva, Deputy head of the Department of new types of mobility, believes that the power requirement has outlived itself, especially since it is difficult to verify. Speed reduction is considered one of the key areas of regulation in the capital.Starting in May 2025, all courier electric bicycles must be equipped with IOT modules that limit the maximum speed to 25 km/h and automatically reduce it in slow traffic areas. Couriers' compliance with the rules, including movement on sidewalks, is already is monitored using cameras thanks to the numbers on the vehicle and bag.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Sukhorukov

As additional measures, the representative of the Office of new types of mobility proposes to introduce state registration and identification of electric bicycles, establish requirements for their equipment, and prohibit parking of these vehicles outside special infrastructure. In addition, it is necessary to establish special responsibility for e-bike users and impose fines using photo and video recording systems. Alyona Dosayeva also made a rather radical proposal — to raise the age of electric bike use to 18 years.

Speed is money

In general, all experts who participated in the round table agree on the need to remove electric bike deliverymen from sidewalks. Alexey Tsivilev believes that all electric cyclists over the age of 14 should be sent to the roadway.

The head of the Association of Micromobility Operators, Ksenia Erdman, noted that the salary of couriers is linked to the speed of delivery. Therefore, in her opinion, it would be more appropriate to classify their vehicles as mopeds and let them pass through the roadway.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Nikolsky

Alexander Mityukov expressed concern that the accident statistics could go up if all the "electrified" bike couriers were sent to the roadway. Lawyer Andrey Orlov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Leningrad Region, noted the danger of riding an electric bike along the edge of the roadway in winter. He gave an example from his practice, when the driver of a two-wheeled electric vehicle lost control on a snowy "porridge" and fell under the wheels of the car.

How to teach the rules

Alexander Kholodov believes that it is necessary to catch delivery workers in their places of concentration and check the vehicles they use. The number of such Traffic police raids has increased this year. In turn, Andrey Orlov expressed the opinion that it is necessary to toughen fines for traffic violations on an electric bike and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov

— Let's imagine that we have banned delivery workers from riding electric bicycles. Then they will switch to scooters. The main question is whether the driver driving the electric bike knows the traffic regulations and how he behaves on the road," said Maxim Belugin, Deputy Chairman of the All—Russian Society of Motorists. He stated the need to develop a training program for electric bike users. Employers should teach their employees to comply with traffic regulations, he believes.

The participants of the round table noted that the deliverymen are registered as self-employed, and in the event of an accident, couriers who are self-employed, not companies, are responsible.