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Keeping Paths Safe: Singapore’s New Rules for Personal Mobility Aids
- Tan Ding Rui and Afiqah Binte Mohamad Imran
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
In this Explainer, find out...
Why is Singapore tightening regulations on Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs), and what was driving their misuse?
What are the new PMA rules taking effect from 1 June 2026?
How will the new PMA rules affect different users, as well as retailers?
Introduction
“Speeding and overly large PMAs (Personal Mobility Aids) have also caused anxiety and concern. We need these rules to improve path safety, especially for vulnerable users, like young children and seniors.”
The news was broken by then-Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng, who announced a wave of new regulations for PMAs on 5 March 2025. This move was driven by two main factors: the misuse of PMAs by able-bodied individuals, and the increase in frequency of collision incidents involving PMAs.
In this Policy Explainer, we hope to share more on what led to the new rules for PMAs and explain the new PMA rules effective from 1 June 2026.
What Led to the New PMA Rules?
To understand why Singapore introduced new rules for PMAs, it helps to first understand what PMAs actually are, and how they fit into the wider landscape of devices that travel on our paths and roads.
Different Types of Active Mobility Devices
Singapore’s legal framework distinguishes between three types of active mobility devices. Two of them are defined under the Active Mobility Act 2017: Power Assisted Bicycles (PABs), also known as e-bikes; and Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), which include e-scooters, electric unicycles and skateboards. The last category, PMAs, is defined under the Health Products Act 2007, since they are treated as medical devices.
The reasoning behind this framework is simple. PMAs, which include motorised wheelchairs and mobility scooters, are designed for people who cannot walk or have difficulty walking. Unlike PABs and PMDs, which are mainly used for recreation or convenience, PMAs support independent living for people with genuine medical or mobility needs.
To the average person, PMDs and PMAs can look remarkably similar, but they actually differ in appearance (see Figure 1 below) and level of regulation. In the next section, we outline how the Government has regulated the use of PMDs and PMAs, and how its approach has evolved over time.
Change in Regulatory Approach
Previously, the Government regulated PMDs and PMAs differently, based on their respective uses and risks. PMDs faced more scrutiny, and for good reason, as pedestrian conflicts, speeding incidents and fire hazards made them a persistent public safety concern from the mid-2010s onwards. The Government’s response to these dangers was progressive but firm. Initially, the authorities tightened PMD speed limits on footpaths and required device certification to the UL2272 fire safety standard. Eventually, by 2019, PMDs were banned from footpaths altogether. In contrast, PMAs were largely left alone because they are medical devices meant for those who need it. The Government decided to give them some leeway rather than impose potentially burdensome restrictions.
PMA Misuse and Collisions
Unfortunately, this light regulatory approach created an opening for misuse of PMAs, particularly mobility scooters. It has become increasingly common to see able-bodied individuals riding mobility scooters on public paths. In some cases, these users have even been seen walking briskly after dismounting. Despite this, it remains important to acknowledge that not all medical conditions are visible, and not every such observation may necessarily represent genuine misuse. However, the scale of the problem is still hard to ignore. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) reported that offences linked to PMA lookalike misuse increased more than fivefold in 2024, compared to the year before. More concerningly, some aggressive or speeding PMA lookalike users have contributed to a rise in collisions, putting elderly, young children and genuine PMA users at risk.
Structurally, we should also note that when PMDs were banned from footpaths, the demand for affordable, convenient, last-mile mobility did not simply disappear. Some users, including food delivery workers, turned to PMAs as an alternative precisely because the regulations were lighter. This reflects an understanding that restricting one category of devices without accounting for how users might respond, may only shift the problem elsewhere. The regulation of active mobility devices is therefore an issue that requires both forethought and careful calibration.
The Two-Step Approach to PMAs
To address the rise in misuse and collisions of PMAs (and PMA lookalikes), Parliament passed the Land Transport and Related Matters Bill in February 2026, thereby formally introducing the new PMA rules. Taking effect from 1 June 2026, the revised regulations are designed to roll out in phases, giving users and retailers time to adjust rather than imposing changes overnight. This was a deliberate move, which was also a lesson drawn from the abrupt PMD footpath ban in 2019, which left retailers with inventory losses.
Phase 1: Regulating PMA Use and Design
Medical Certification
The first phase starts from 1 June 2026, and requires prospective mobility scooter users to possess a Certificate of Medical Need. A mobility scooter is a motor-propelled, handlebar-steering PMA with three or more wheels and a single footboard, distinguishing it from manual or motorised wheelchairs.
To obtain the certificate, individuals can approach a registered doctor or occupational therapist to undergo the Assessment for Mobility Scooter. To avoid creating unnecessary barriers for genuine PMA users, the Government has built in a broad set of exemptions, which cover any individual who is:
Aged 70 years old and above;
A beneficiary of subsidised mobility scooters under certain schemes; or
An applicant of the Ministry of Health’s disability schemes, who has been assessed to require mobility support.
New Device Standards
On the other hand, retailers can only advertise, display and sell registered mobility scooters that meet the new device standards. All PMAs must now be no more than 70 cm wide, 120 cm long and 150 cm tall, with a maximum laden weight of 300 kg. In addition, the maximum speed for PMAs on public paths was reduced to 6 km/h, down from 10 km/h.
That said, existing PMAs which are designed for the previous 10 km/h speed limit are not immediately obsolete. They can be used on public paths until 2028, as long as riders keep to the new 6 km/h limit.
Enforcement Measures
Riding a non-compliant PMA, exceeding 6 km/h on a PMA on public paths, and using a mobility scooter without certification or exemption are each considered an offence under the new rules. To enforce these new rules, officers will check PMA users’ particulars to verify that they either hold valid certification or qualify for an exemption. Members of the public can also report errant users and retailers through an LTA portal, which feeds into day-to-day enforcement operations.
Phase 2: Facilitating PMA Registration
In the second phase, starting mid-2027, LTA will set up roving registration stations at community touchpoints (e.g., Community Clubs and Residents’ Networks) to help existing mobility scooter users register their devices. Mandatory registration of all mobility scooters must be completed by 1 January 2029.
How Could the New PMA Rules Affect Different Stakeholders?
The new PMA regulations can be expected to affect different stakeholder groups differently. Let us now consider how genuine users, food-delivery workers and PMA retailers may each view this policy.
Perspective of Genuine PMA Users
Many PMA users with genuine needs are on board with the new regulations, as they believe that they would make the footpaths more orderly. Mandatory medical certification can weed out able-bodied misusers, while the new directives on maximum PMA weight and speed help reduce the collateral risk of collision incidents.
However, it may also become more cumbersome for this group to use PMAs. From 1 June 2026, the policy requires users to be medically certified to ride PMAs, potentially creating an additional hassle and leading to longer waiting times for compliant PMA usage. Though the Government has carved out exemptions for certain groups, some legitimate users may still fall through the cracks. For example, individuals who can walk but not for long distances may not be assessed as having a medical need for PMAs.
It is encouraging that policymakers have sought to protect genuine PMA users who need the device to support their basic and independent living. Though certification could be seen as a bureaucratic hurdle by some users, it may ultimately be necessary to reinforce the norm that PMAs are strictly for medical use.
Impact on Food-Delivery Workers
Some food-delivery workers have expressed concerns over the impact of the new PMA regulations on their livelihoods. For one, a number of able-bodied individuals use PMAs for “bread and butter” purposes, such as delivering food under platform operators like Grab and Foodpanda. To them, mobility scooters are a more affordable and convenient transportation means than cars or public transport. Since a Certificate of Need is now required to ride a PMA, these able-bodied workers may have to turn to less desirable alternatives.
For another, although food-delivery workers with mobility needs can continue using PMAs under the new regime, the reduced speed limit could still affect their earnings. These workers expect to complete substantially fewer orders than before, with some even anticipating their incomes to halve as a result.
Cognisant of these concerns, the Government has implemented the policy changes over a period of time to support food-delivery riders in making the transition. This is a noteworthy point of improvement from the 2019 ban of PMDs on footpaths. Then, many food-delivery riders found the ban too sudden, giving them little time to adapt to this significant disruption to their jobs.
Despite this, problems would probably persist. Even with time to transition, food-delivery workers who rely on PMAs could face longer delivery times and a permanent cut to their earnings. To make up for the shortfall, they may have to extend their working hours, or look for alternative sources of income altogether.
Potential Problems for Retailers
For retailers, the new PMA regulations may pose certain challenges. On the supply side, retailers who purchased unlicensed PMAs wholesale would need an adjustment period to reprogramme the devices to ensure compliance. PMAs that exceed certain weight and size limitations would not be road-eligible, and could cause significant headaches for these businesses. They would likely have to incur losses, or pass these costs on to consumers.
Further costs could arise from new requirements for suppliers to send their stock to registration and inspection centres. This is because PMA retailers would require additional manpower and transportation to comply with this process. Already, retailers say that mobility scooter prices could rise by up to 15 per cent as a consequence.
On the customer side, retailers could encounter difficulties in facilitating a newly mandated PMA ownership transfer process. It would require a seller to transfer ownership of the sold PMA to a buyer via OneMotoring, an LTA portal. For elderly customers who are not technologically savvy, this process could prove troublesome. Additionally, retailers could be held legally liable if the ownership transfer process is left incomplete, and the buyer does something illegal with the PMA.
As such, the Government has recognised the need for a phased transition to help retailers adjust to a stricter regulatory framework. This would give PMA businesses some time to re-align their supply chains and source compliant inventory from factories.
Conclusion
Singapore’s most recent batch of PMA regulations demonstrates a calibrated implementation of personal mobility policy. Instead of imposing a blanket ban on all PMAs, the Government has opted for a “softer” approach to address the rise in PMA misuse and collision incidents. The policy makes use of phased implementation and exemptions for select, genuine users, even as it tightens the rules.
Nonetheless, the new PMA regulatory regime may present significant obstacles to legitimate users. Some users and food-delivery riders lament that the “bad apples” who misuse PMAs have brought about consequences for the broader community. Regulation is one way to manage this problem, but this alone may not prevent errant behaviour. As Mr Baey highlighted in Parliament, effective PMA enforcement could be difficult to achieve on a path network that spans almost 6,000 km islandwide.
Ultimately, the onus lies with each user to navigate Singapore’s shared spaces with responsibility and consideration for others. It is only then that our paths can stay safe for all.
This Policy Explainer was written by members of MAJU. MAJU is a ground-up, fully youth-led organisation dedicated to empowering Singaporean youths in policy discourse and co-creation.
By promoting constructive dialogue and serving as a bridge between youths and the Government, we hope to drive the keMAJUan (progress!) of Singapore.
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