Sandbox For Micromobility Officially Launched

For one year, Shah Alam will serve as a testing environment or sandbox for micromobility use and relevant guidelines. The National Regulatory Sandbox (NRS) for Micromobility seeks to assess the viability of operating micromobility vehicles in terms of enforcement, licencing, and infrastructure usage. Bicycles, ebikes, escooters, electric unicycles, and mopeds are examples of such vehicles.

At the National Micromobility Vehicle Safety Day 2023 at Dataran Kemerdekaan Shah Alam, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah launched the NRS for Micromobility and a series of guidelines.

For one year, SHAH Alam will serve as a testing environment or sandbox for micromobility use and relevant guidelines. The event was held in conjunction with Shah Alam City Council's monthly Shah Alam Car-Free Day (MBSA). Hasbi stated that the sandbox was created in response to the Transport Ministry's December 17, 2021 ban on certain micromobility devices on public roads.

Except for bicycles and ebikes, the ban applies to almost all personal mobility devices (PMD) and personal mobility aids.

"The sandbox, guidelines, and regulations were developed by the Transport Ministry, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) based on various engagements with parties such as the Local Government Development Ministry, PlanMalaysia, the police, local authorities, Futurise Sdn Bhd (a public policy advisory agency mandated by the government to lead the NRS initiative)," he said in his speech. "These parties contributed their expertise with the aim of creating a conducive and safe environment not only for micromobility vehicle users, but also pedestrians and cyclists.

"With the guidelines and regulations on the use of micromobilty, we hope to address safety issues and help local authorities monitor the use of such vehicles in public. "I also urge all micromobility users to always follow the rules, particularly by wearing helmets, adhering to speed limits, following designated routes, and being considerate of other road users."

While most micromobility vehicles cannot be used on public roads, Hasbi believes they can be used in recreational areas, subject to infrastructure availability, which falls under the purview of the local government.

Shah Alam mayor Dr Nor Fuad Abdul Hamid, Miros acting director-general Azhar Hamzah, PlanMalaysia deputy director-general Hassan Yaakob, and Futurise CEO Rosihan Zain Baharudin were also present. "The sandbox is an experimental initiative to understand how the public behaves when using micromobility vehicles," Azhar explained. "The goal of the micromobility sandbox and guidelines is to be as comprehensive as possible. They will discuss vehicle definitions, the maximum allowable speed, and the use of dedicated pathways versus mixed traffic." Azhar stated that the sandbox would be in place for a year, with periodic discussions and improvements made along the way. "After a year, we will review the sandbox. If everything goes well, we'll expand the initiative to other towns and cities. "The use of micromobility is to support first- and last-mile connectivity, as well as to improve public transportation usage," he explained.

He added that the ban on the use of PMDs on public roads was still in effect, so such vehicles should only be used within the gazetted area in Shah Alam. The first phase of the sandbox, according to MBSA Urban Transport Department head Norazmizam Alias, will be in the Section 14 city centre. "The second phase will focus on Section 7. Both of these locations have dedicated micromobility pathways (but shared with pedestrian pathways). "We will then conduct a trial in a commercial area using a mixed traffic route, in which micromobility devices will share roads with motorised vehicles," he explained. Other potential areas, such as residential areas, would be considered, according to Norazmizam, but the authorities would need to consider safety and gazette the route under the sandbox. Miros stated that the micromobility sandbox and guidelines will be made public in the near future.