Mr. Ray O'Leary:

I understand that most of the other countries that were looked at distinguish between them. As noted in our contribution, and as I said earlier, there are vehicular standards at EU level and international consumer standards for bicycles and e-bicycles. E-scooters do not have an international standard on the quality of manufacture or their durability. That is acknowledged by the hardware companies which are trumpeting the fact that they are now providing vehicles that last more than three months; most of the vehicles that have been put on the street have tended to be quite short lasting in life. There are questions over their durability and environmental and safety standards.

There is also simple physics involved in the safety considerations as highlighted by the National Transport Authority, NTA. The geometry of, say, the wheel size of a scooter creates a vulnerability that does not exist for somebody using a bicycle or e-bicycle in terms of the impact of road surfaces. Road surfaces tend to be an area of great interest to bicycle riders.