Seoul City to Tow Illegally Parked 'Shared Electric Scooters' Starting from the 15th

Starting with 6 Districts: Seongdong, Songpa, Dobong, Mapo, Yeongdeungpo, Dongjak... Gradual Expansion
Focus on High-Risk Areas like Subway Entrances/Exits and Braille Blocks, Tow Fees Charged to Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will begin towing shared electric scooters that are illegally parked on roads and sidewalks.

On the 11th, Seoul announced that starting from the 15th, it will sequentially expand the towing of shared electric scooters beginning with six autonomous districts: Seongdong-gu, Songpa-gu, Dobong-gu, Mapo-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Dongjak-gu. Towing fees of 40,000 KRW and storage fees (700 KRW per 30 minutes) will be charged to the shared electric scooter companies for the towed scooters.

Seoul conducted a pilot operation for two weeks from July 1st in five autonomous districts: Seongdong, Songpa, Dobong, Mapo, and Yeongdeungpo. During this period, only towing actions were implemented without charging towing fees. Dongjak-gu will immediately begin towing actions from the 15th without a pilot operation.

Currently, 14 companies operate a total of 55,499 shared electric scooters in Seoul. While shared electric scooters provide mobility convenience to citizens as a new mode of transportation, indiscriminate parking has hindered the pedestrian environment and caused safety accidents. In response, Seoul is the first city nationwide to start towing illegally parked electric scooters.

Seoul plans to promote towing by distinguishing between immediate towing zones and general sidewalks based on the degree of threat to the pedestrian environment. Immediate towing zones are five areas where there is a high risk of accidents and where the passage of vulnerable groups, such as on tactile paving, is threatened. Towing companies will tow scooters immediately upon discovery in these zones.

Seoul also launched a reporting website where citizens can easily report abandoned devices and directly check the processing results. By accessing the website and scanning the QR code attached to the device, users can report easily without entering the company name or device location.

Reported cases are transmitted in real-time to the shared electric scooter companies to take measures such as collection and redistribution. If no action is taken within three hours, the information is forwarded to the towing company for towing. The results of these actions can also be checked directly on the website.

Baek Ho, Director of Urban Transportation at Seoul City, said, “As personal mobility establishes itself as a new transportation mode for citizens amid changes in the transportation paradigm, establishing a safe usage culture must come first. We urge shared electric scooter companies to establish their own collection systems and will do our best to foster a personal mobility usage culture that satisfies both users and pedestrians.”

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