Has anyone here used an electric kick scooter in Taipei? I’ve noticed they aren’t very common compared to places like the US, where you can find apps like Bird offering them for rent in almost every city.
If you have your own electric kick scooter, which model do you use, and what’s your experience been like riding it in Taipei?
Also, what’s the regulation like?
Do you need insurance, a license plate, or any special permissions to ride an electric kick scooter in Taipei?
I know most people in Taipei prefer traditional scooters, but I’m curious about the practicality of using a mini electric scooter for commuting or just getting around the city.
How do they handle the traffic and the often narrow streets?
Do you mean the smaller ones that looks like a normal scooter, but smaller? Those have license plates, but it just says “electric scooter” or something like this in Chinese.
Those can only go on the road, not the sidewalk.
The other one could be stuff like hoverboards, Segways, and those kind that you can fold up. I made a thread about it. Seems the consensus is that those are illegal to use in most public spaces.
The first one says 電動代步車 on the plate. The second one has no plate at all.
So you gotta get insurance and registration for them, but they don’t need a license.
Thanks for the clarification! I actually meant the kick electric scooter, like a Ninebot—the ones that can fold up. Do those fall under the category without a license plate and are illegal to use in most public spaces? Just want to make sure I’m understanding the regulations correctly.
Yes, they’re illegal to use in public places. Only place you can use them is in parks. Possibly riverside parks as I never see cops going there to hand out tickets, I mean they could be considered parks.
But public street and sidewalk? Avoid cops if you use them.
They are not an allowed vehicle on sidewalks or streets. That said, people use them. There was briefly a company that rented them, similar to oBike (I miss those), but that disappeared. I’ve seen a few people riding that one that Costco sells.