SIM-SIM, line up: the State Duma is preparing new rules for riding electric scooters

The State Duma is working on further regulation of electric scooter riding. In the autumn, a bill will be submitted to parliament that proposes to oblige developers to lay bike paths during the construction of new neighborhoods, Izvestia found out. United Russia insists on creating special zones in the regions where riding will be banned or, conversely, allowed, the Liberal Democratic Party calls for the introduction of CTP for SIM drivers, and the SR proposed banning kicksharing altogether. At the same time, a number of deputies, along with rental services, emphasize that a new law is not required, and the number of accidents involving scooters is decreasing. About how in Russia and other countries they seek to protect pedestrians, see the Izvestia article.

Will there be tracks for scooters in the Russian Federation

Back in 2024, the Ministry of Transport published a draft initiative that was supposed to oblige regions to think over paths and parking lots for electric scooters in cities. In addition, it was proposed to install special road signs, traffic lights and make markings for them. The project was envisaged by the roadmap for SIM regulation, which the Russian government approved in 2023.

A year later, the initiatives were not submitted to the State Duma for consideration, which is why they now risk remaining on paper. The press service of the Ministry of Transport told Izvestia that they were not ready to comment on the SIM topic yet. The current head of the department, Andrey Nikitin, has not expressed the official position of the Ministry of Transport on this issue since his appointment in July 2025.

The legal regulation of SIM in the Russian Federation is just being introduced and today it is clearly insufficient, the deputies believe.

—The New People party is preparing a proposal that will make movement on electric scooters more organized and safer, to oblige developers to immediately design bike paths for owners of personal mobility SIM devices that are used by food deliverers and scooter users," Sardana Avksentieva, deputy head of the faction, told Izvestia.

The bill will be submitted to the State Duma in the autumn session, the party said. It will not apply to residential complexes that have already been built. At the same time, it is in the new quarters that kicksharing becomes the most convenient way to get home during the organization of public transport routes, the press service of Yrent told Izvestia.

Such an initiative looks logical given the new realities, when electric scooters began to be used everywhere, especially in big cities, Andrei Borisov, a leading expert at the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, tells Izvestia.

— When the territory is just beginning to be built up, it is absolutely correct to include in your plans, among other things, the infrastructure for this. Just as highways, parking lots, and pedestrian crossings are being created in new neighborhoods, there should be bike paths today, the expert believes.

United Russia is also working on creating a convenient infrastructure for electric scooters, including separate bike paths.

"I continue to have a dialogue with relevant departments on issues of comprehensive regulation of SIM, including the organization of special zones and routes for traffic, improving infrastructure, and improving the culture of exploitation," Senator Artem Sheikin, first deputy head of the Federation Council Committee on State Construction, told Izvestia.

According to him, it is important to clearly identify the territories where scooter movement is allowed, and where it poses risks to pedestrian safety. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude the movement of the SIM on too narrow sidewalks, the parliamentarian is sure.

In November this year, the Federation Council will host a round table dedicated to regulating the use of SIM in Russia. Experts, representatives of regions and federal agencies will discuss approaches to this issue. "After that, we will be able to prepare effective legislative initiatives at the federal level," Sheikin explained.

Fair Russia has been insisting for several years that it is necessary to remove sims from sidewalks, creating separate lanes and bike paths for them, party leader Sergei Mironov told Izvestia.

— We need a separate infrastructure for this type of transport. But it does not exist, as there is no normal regulation. Therefore, in August, I turned to the Ministry of Transport: since there is nothing, let's ban kicksharing altogether. Until everything necessary for it appears, until the risks to people are eliminated. Both for pedestrians and for the SIM users themselves," the deputy clarified.

The LDPR also advocates further regulation of electric scooter riding. The party is unhappy that Russians "are forced to walk and constantly twitch, dodge, and look around to see if an electric scooter is flying at them," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the faction, told Izvestia.

— It is important to increase security in residential areas. After all, it got to the point where it was impossible to let a child go for a walk in the yard or leave the entrance without bumping into a delivery guy running at full speed. In residential areas and at pedestrian crossings, all e—bike drivers should dismount and walk, rather than drive at full speed," he stressed.

The LDPR believes that it is also necessary to prohibit talking on the phone while riding scooters, as well as to tighten responsibility for leaving the scene of an accident involving a SIM. Slutsky added that the party has developed a bill with a proposal to oblige owners of electric scooters and other SIM cards to register CTP and put them on the state register. The initiative is under consideration by the Government.

In addition, the State Duma is considering an initiative proposing to increase fines for drunk driving (up to 30 thousand rubles) and for two (up to 5 thousand rubles). Parliament may consider it as early as this fall, Artem Sheikin said.

At the same time, despite the existing system of fines, it is the creation of infrastructure for SIM, whether bike paths on sidewalks or bike lanes on roads, that can be a comprehensive solution to the problem of electric scooters, says Andrey Borisov from the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Is the number of accidents involving SIM decreasing

Not all MPs agree that further tightening of the rules for riding electric scooters is necessary. Today, the regions are coping with the regulation of THIS with the legislative instruments that they already have, and the number of accidents continues to decrease, Pavel Fedyaev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport (United Russia), told Izvestia.

— The biggest problem is not to stamp regulations, but the fact that laws that have already been adopted are not being implemented. We need to look at what regulation exists today, how it works, and monitor law enforcement practices. Therefore, we do not plan to launch an initiative at the federal level in the near future," said United Russia.

According to him, in Moscow, after the introduction of mandatory registration through mos.ru after a lot of work with rental services, there are many times fewer violators on the streets. St. Petersburg, Sochi and other cities have their own approaches that allow them to control the industry.

Kicksharing services told Izvestia about a significant decrease in accidents involving SIM. In particular, the Yrent press service stressed that the number of insurance claims per 100,000 trips from January to September 2025 decreased by 49.2% compared to last year. At the same time, the number of trips during the specified period increased by 26.1% to 106.7 million. Woosh also recorded a 46% decrease in scooter accidents this season.

The kicksharing services said that they are in contact with the regional authorities. "Working groups are being created, agreements are being concluded and roadmaps are being signed — action plans for improving the integration of SIM into the life of the city. Together, we teach the rules both in the format of lectures for educational institutions and "Driving Schools," the press service of Yrent clarified.

Together with the regions, the services are starting to develop a special infrastructure for scooters. In particular, the Woosh service, together with the subjects, has equipped more than 3 thousand parking spaces for SIM to ensure order and parking in cities in 19 cities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, it seems that further development of the infrastructure for electric scooters is still ahead, especially if we compare the situation in Russia with foreign countries.

In the UK, France, and Germany, scooter rides on sidewalks are prohibited and carry fines. In the city limits, it is allowed to ride only on bike paths or on the roadway. At the same time, Europeans often violate the rules, which is why the authorities have begun to completely ban electric scooters. For example, in Berlin and Cologne there are areas where you can not ride them, and in Paris, starting in the fall of 2023, the rental of electric scooters was completely banned. The decision was made following a city referendum, and 89% of Parisians supported the ban. In Singapore, it was not SIM cards that were banned, but the movement of them on the sidewalk. Now you can ride them on separate tracks, of which there are not so many. In Slovakia, it was recently proposed to fix the speed at which you can move on the sidewalk — 6 km / h for any means.

Anyway, there is still something to work on in Russia. Ideally, after creating the infrastructure, Russians should have a clear understanding that they can only move along special bike paths, Andrei Borisov believes. At the same time, the situation with private SIM cards that end up in the "gray zone" also remains an acute problem. According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at the end of nine months, almost 80% of accidents with the most serious consequences occurred with such scooters. Thus, this problem, which often escapes the attention of government officials, also requires a timely solution.