Daegu City Greatly Expands Customized Facilities for Electric Kickboards on Bicycle Roads... "Pavement Material Replacement"

Nation's First Ordinance on Personal Mobility Devices Enforced Nationwide
Rental Companies Clearly Comply with Safe Speed and Helmet Provision Requirements

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Daegu City announced on the 27th that it will undertake a major maintenance project on bicycle lanes for personal mobility device (electric kickboard) users.

Next year, with a budget of 1.9 billion KRW, the city plans to replace the pavement materials, install safety signs, and significantly expand the electric kickboard infrastructure facilities.

This plan follows the enactment and implementation of the "Personal Mobility Device Use Safety Promotion Ordinance" on the 10th, the first of its kind nationwide, based on the judgment that compliance with the safety speed limit (15 km/h) and helmet wearing has shown unexpectedly rapid effects.

During the ordinance's enactment process, the mandatory "helmet provision" clause sparked strong opposition from rental companies, with concerns that it would not easily take root due to issues such as loss and hygiene. There were also many claims that enforcing the safety speed limit would drastically reduce users.

However, since the ordinance's implementation, Daegu City explains that among some rental operators currently doing business in the region, there is a clear trend toward providing helmets and adjusting the maximum speed to the safety speed standard.

Regarding the helmet issue and other unresolved matters such as storage boxes, Daegu City showed strong determination to solve the problems by organizing a public-private-academic cooperation kickoff meeting on the 23rd, involving Kyungpook National University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Team and shared service providers.

Yoon Jeong-hee, Director of Daegu City Transportation Bureau, stated, "The increase in users of shared mobility means such as electric kickboards is a trend of the times, but if there are safety issues, these transportation means will not be established as accessible options for citizens. We will actively promote policies such as facility improvements with user safety as the top priority."

Meanwhile, as of the end of November, four rental companies operate approximately 2,900 shared electric kickboards in Daegu.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.