Cost of departure: fines for children driving electric scooters have tripled
Fines for driving electric scooters by children and teenagers have tripled from 10 to 30 thousand rubles, Izvestia has learned. Kicksharing companies have imposed such sanctions since April 28. The next step will be to identify the drivers of these vehicles through Gosuslugi. The Federation Council considers the increase in fines to be a justified measure. Experts say that the punishment for riding an electric scooter together should also be increased.
How will minor SIM drivers be fined?
Russian kicksharing operators Whoosh and MTS Yrent have stepped up the fight against the use of rental electric scooters by minors. Since April 28, the companies have tripled the fines for their access to personal mobility equipment (SIM) — from 10 to 30 thousand rubles, their representatives told Izvestia. The exception is Moscow, where the fine is already 100 thousand rubles.
According to the services' offer, Whoosh scooters can be used by people from the age of 16, MTS Yuret and Yandex Go from the age of 18. These age requirements are much stricter than the traffic regulations, where the age of admission to low-power SIM starts at 14 years old. The companies decided to increase the fines based on their own statistics: children under 16 are the most emergency category, a representative of one of them explained to Izvestia.
"Children's trips often provoke incidents, as they are usually accompanied by multiple driving violations," he points out.
All three companies also noted that an adult who allowed a child to operate a scooter would lose his account in the kicksharing service. Naturally, he will be fined for the violation.
— The purpose of the increased fine is to convey, first of all, to parents that children's scooter riding is strictly prohibited and should not be encouraged. Unfortunately, it's often adults who don't see "anything wrong" with this and rent scooters to children themselves. The threat of punishment in rubles should influence parents to take stricter care of their children and not allow them to share scooters," said a representative of another operator.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Transport.
Will electric scooters become inaccessible to children
Kicksharing companies are not going to limit themselves to fines: in 2025-2026, they propose to introduce user verification through Public Services, their representatives say. This means that a user under the age of 16-18 simply will not be able to use the application — when registering, it will contact the "State Services" and check the rider's real age, one of the companies noted.
— Our service is already technically ready for such integration: there are tools to connect to the platform as soon as possible from Gosuslug. Simple and accessible verification for a wide range of people, which confirms the user's real age, is the right thing to do. In particular, this season we have already implemented a similar functionality in Moscow — mandatory verification via Mos ID, and we see that this is an effective way to identify the age of users using the platform that every citizen has," a Whoosh representative told Izvestia.
MTS Yuret noted that they also support integration with Public Services, which is indeed one of the most effective and convenient tools to "cut off" riders who, due to their age, are unable to assess the possible consequences of traveling on vehicles such as scooters.
— Technically, we are already working on this issue on our side. A pilot project with Mos.ru Moscow has already shown that digital integration is more effective than any other restrictive tools," the company representative said.
The Ministry of Finance is aware that some kicksharing companies plan to use "Public Services" to verify users. This issue is currently being worked out with one of the operators. This authorization method helps ensure data security: users can only provide information that they agree to provide, such as their age. You can revoke consent to their processing at any time at Gosuslugi, the agency noted.
How to identify violators of the rules
According to representatives of kicksharing companies, they already have tools for detecting minors driving. Among them are the data of bank cards, mobile operators, and others.
According to representatives of Whoosh, MTS Yrent and Yandex, not only the amount of fines has increased, but also their collection at the beginning of the 2025 scooter season. It jumped four times compared to the same period in 2024 - 26.6 thousand, according to a joint statement released by the companies last week.
Along with the fines, the number of lockdowns is also growing, primarily for transferring control of electric scooters to children and teenagers. In total, since the beginning of the season, the services have blocked about 190 thousand accounts, about a third were accounts of minors or users who handed over control to them, the companies noted.
In addition to IT solutions, the activity of citizens who noticed them and sent appropriate requests to the services, as well as their own employees who monitor the use of SIM cards, allows them to identify children behind the wheel of scooters, the companies note. The city's outdoor surveillance cameras, as well as law enforcement officers, help in this.
What does the state want to fine users of electric scooters for?
Kicksharing companies already have an extensive range of fines for various violations. For example, Whoosh fines a user 5,000 rubles for riding a scooter together. Taking your time at a pedestrian crossing will cost 1,000 rubles, parking violations 500 rubles, and so on. If traffic regulations require a fine of 1-1.5 thousand for SIM users for any violation of the rules while drunk, then in scooter rental services it is up to 150 thousand, MTS Yrent notes.
Business initiatives can significantly affect the emergency situation of personal mobility equipment. By increasing fines and introducing additional security measures, kicksharing operators show their responsibility for user safety, said Artyom Sheikin, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction.
— For example, increasing fines for trips with children on scooters is an important step in preventing potential emergencies, as such trips can indeed pose a danger to life and health. The introduction of account verification through Gosuslugi will also help reduce risks by restricting minors' access to such services. This solution can improve security and create a more responsible atmosphere among users," he told Izvestia.
According to the senator, special attention should be paid to the most dangerous and massive traffic violations. The size of fines should be proportional to the risks, he believes. For example, riding with a child on an electric scooter is not just a violation, but a potential threat to life, and an increase in the fine is justified in this case. Aggressive driving on sidewalks is no less dangerous when SIM users ignore traffic regulations and pose a threat to pedestrians, Artem Sheikin noted. It is such actions that most often lead to serious consequences, and for them the violator should receive a proportionate punishment, he said.
— As the author of the draft law on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, I would like to note that the document, which is currently undergoing the necessary approvals before the second reading, includes the introduction of fines for electric scooter drivers for various violations, including driving while intoxicated, speeding, and traveling alone or more. I hope that the bill will be considered in the second reading during the spring session," added Artem Sheikin.
Fines for riding scooters together should also be increased — perhaps kicksharing companies will do this in the near future, for speeding, as well as for spontaneous parking of electric scooters, Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, listed. Otherwise, large cities of the Russian Federation and their streets may turn into a dumping ground for SIM, he warned.
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