A new era has begun for administrative fines targeting electric scooter operators. The regulation amendment, prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Interior, has been published in the Official Gazette and entered into force.
With this regulation, administrative fines to be applied for violations regarding permits, authorization certificates, service obligations, scooter count limits, and inspection processes in shared electric scooter operations have been redefined.
GRADUAL SANCTIONS ON SCOOTER COUNTS
According to the regulation, operators will not be allowed to have fewer than 70 percent or more than 130 percent of the total number of e-scooters permitted in the relevant district or region, provided that they do not exceed the total number of permits received for the province in which they operate. During the November-February period, the lower limit will be applied as 40 percent.
Operators acting in violation of this rule will be fined 8 thousand 687 TL for the first violation, 86 thousand 900 TL for the second violation, and 170 thousand TL for the third violation. In the event of a third violation, the operator's activities within the scope of the authorization certificate may also be temporarily suspended for 6 months.
A fine of 86 thousand 900 TL will be applied to those who act in violation of the legislation in shared e-scooter activities that must be carried out within the framework of the necessary authorization certificates and permits. The requirement for operators to obtain the foreseen permits for the scooters they will use and to ensure that at least 30 percent of the e-scooters are sourced from businesses certified by the TSE will also be evaluated within the same scope.
Operators are also required to provide a call center or a mobile application serving the same function that users can reach 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company name, contact information, service areas, and rental fees must be clearly displayed on websites or mobile applications. A fine of 43 thousand 447 TL will be imposed for violations of these obligations.
It is also stipulated that the location, number, charge level, estimated range, and instant fee information of the scooters, as well as areas where riding or parking is not permitted, must be shown in the applications. Resolving user complaints and questions is among the responsibilities of the operators.
The regulation also covers obligations such as entering into service contracts, transferring location and user data to the U-Net system in a timely manner, providing online training to users, and not providing services to individuals under the age of 15. An administrative fine of 8 thousand 687 TL will be applied for some violations within this scope.
A fine of 50 thousand টাকা will be imposed on those who do not submit the information or documents requested for inspection to the authorized authorities. In the event that multiple violations occur simultaneously, a separate report will be drawn up for each offense; if the violation is committed with more than one e-scooter, a separate fine will be applied for each scooter.
News Source: 12punto
