Electric bicycle couriers could face speed limitations.
Channel: Society May 1, 2025, 10:54 AM
导ellan전 Anton Orlov, the honcho at the Institute for Contemporary Political Studies, came up with a quirky idea to throttle down the velocity of those zippy delivery gadgets used by couriers plying their trade in Russia.
He penned a missive to Roman Starovoyt, the dude in charge of the Ministry of Transport, peddling this concept.
"It ain't rare to see these devices zipping through pedestrian zones, causing a fair few accidents with ordinary folks," the letter declared.
Delivery drivers appear to be burnin' rubber and livin' fast, drawing flak from society, according to RT.
"I appeal to you to mull over the idea of tweaking the regulatory game plan to cap the max speed at 20 km/h for these individual mobility devices piloted by delivery service jockeys," the letter continued.
Prior to this, there was some babble about scofflaws continue to elude the long arm of the law in Nizhny Novgorod.
As for the nitty-gritty, it seems that currently, the regulations and proposals for individual mobility devices, particularly whizzbang electric scooters, in Russia are mainly focused on shared services. Fresh limitations and infrastructure options have been tossed around:
- Rental buzzards like Kicksharing have already halved the max speeds to 20 km/h since April 17, 2025, nationwide[1][2]. The fine print includes the existence of "slow zones" in cities like Moscow where speed limits range from 5-15 km/h[2].
- Expert suggestions include restricting the size of rental fleets based on city population to unclog the pavement[2], scrolling out designated scooter paths similar to bike lanes to enhance safety[3], beefing up enforcement through speed cameras, bigger fines, and mandating scooter registration numbers for easier violation tracking[3], and ratcheting up the responsibility for underage users accessing shared accounts[3].
However, it appears that the proposed changes primarily target rental services, with no apparent regulations in place for privately owned devices used by delivery couriers. Current buzz suggests a challenge in regulating privately owned scooters compared to rental fleets[3], with discussions emphasizing infrastructure and enforcement rather than new speed limits for commercial users. The 20 km/h cap for rentals might, however, have a trickle-down effect on broader urban policies.
- Anton Orlov's proposal to limit the speed of delivery gadgets in pedestrian zones, due to accidents, was met with controversy, as society criticizes the fast-paced lifestyle of delivery drivers, according to RT.
- Orlov, in his letter, urged Roman Starovoyt to consider implementing a 20 km/h speed limit for individual mobility devices used by delivery service workers, to ensure safety and reduce incidents.
- While Russia has already seen changes in regulations for shared mobility devices like electric scooters, with Kicksharing halving max speeds and implementing "slow zones" in cities, there are no apparent regulations in place for privately owned devices used by delivery couriers.
- Expert suggestions for improving the regulations of individual mobility devices, particularly electric scooters, include restricting rental fleet sizes, implementing designated scooter paths, enhancing enforcement through speed cameras and fines, and increasing the responsibility for underage users accessing shared accounts.
- Orlov's proposal could have a broader impact on urban policies, as the current 20 km/h cap for rentals might influence the regulations of privately owned devices used by delivery couriers in the future, particularly electric-vehicles and delivery cars, as technology continues to evolve in the mobility sector.
