A ban on couriers riding on sidewalks will be introduced in the spring.

This spring, couriers on electric bicycles may be banned from riding on sidewalks, a source in one of the sharing companies told Izvestia.

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

Delivery workers with an electric motor will be forced to follow the rules of the road

The Cabinet of Ministers is ready to equate this transport with mopeds: oblige them to use the right side of the roadway and get a license. The government is waiting for a draft of such amendments to the traffic rules by April 3, according to the draft minutes of the Cabinet meeting on the regulation of personal mobility SIM. Izvestia has reviewed the document. This was also reported by RBC.

The document says that such vehicles with an engine power in continuous load mode of more than 250 watts should be equated to mopeds.

Such electric bicycles are usually used by couriers of retail chains to deliver groceries. Now they move along the sidewalks, overtaking pedestrians, periodically colliding with them. This causes mass discontent among people, the situation is aggravated by the fact that such transport provokes accidents. This is pushing the authorities to create new restrictions for people, said a source in one of the sharing companies, who is familiar with the details of the meeting.

According to the Scientific Center for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the first nine months of 2024, 920 accidents involving bicycles with an electric motor were recorded in the Russian Federation, killing 25 people and injuring 926 more. These are the primary statistics, the regulator has not conducted such calculations before. In almost half (42.9%, 395) of the accidents, cyclists were employees of delivery services, five people were killed and 402 injured in these accidents.

The proposed changes will in no way affect the availability of this vehicle for couriers and the cost of delivery, said Artyom Sokolov, President of the Association of Online Commerce Companies (AKIT).

"It is formed taking into account seasonality, demand and the number of available performers. So, the price of delivery may increase if the number of orders exceeds the number of performers who are ready to fulfill them," he added.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Roll to the side: a ban on couriers riding on sidewalks may be introduced in the spring