Administrative fines for electric scooter operators have been rearranged. The Regulation on Amendments to the Electric Scooter Regulation prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Ministry of Internal Affairs came into force after being published in the Official Gazette.
With the amendment, administrative fines to be applied in case of violation of the regulation were redefined.
86 THOUSAND 900 TL PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES
An administrative fine of 86 thousand 900 TL will be imposed on those who violate the third paragraph of Article 6 of the Regulation. The regulation in question covers the operation of shared electric scooters within the framework of the necessary authorization certificate and permits.
Those who violate the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Regulation will be fined 86 thousand 900 TL. In this context, operators must obtain the permits stipulated in the relevant legislation for the scooters they will use.
The same penalty will be applied to those who act contrary to the obligations in the 14th paragraph of the 16th article of the regulation. This paragraph includes the requirement that operators procure at least 30 percent of e-scooters from businesses that produce in accordance with the relevant regulation and are certified by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE).
GRADED PENALTY FOR EXCESSING THE NUMBER OF SCOOTER LIMIT
The 11th paragraph of the 16th article of the Regulation regulates the limits on the number of e-scooters that operators can keep in the regions where they operate.
Operators must not have less than 70 percent and more than 130 percent of the total number of e-scooters allowed in the relevant district or region, provided that they do not exceed the total number of permits they have received for the province in which they operate. The lower limit is applied as 40 percent in the November-February period.
Those who violate this rule will be given an administrative fine of 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 case of a third violation, the activities of the business within the scope of the authorization certificate will be temporarily suspended for 6 months.
CALL CENTER AND MOBILE APPLICATION REQUIREMENT
Within the scope of the 12th paragraph of the 16th article of the Regulation, operators are required to have a call center that can serve their users 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or a mobile application that serves the same function. Resulting in users' complaints and questions is also among the responsibilities of operators.
Businesses must clearly state their title and contact information, the regions they operate in, and rental fees on their websites or mobile applications. It is envisaged that the location, number, charge level, estimated range, current price information of the scooters and areas where driving or parking are not allowed will be displayed in the applications.
An administrative fine of 43 thousand 447 TL will be imposed on businesses that violate these obligations.
8 THOUSAND 687 TL PENALTY FOR OTHER VIOLATIONS
Those who violate the obligations set out in some paragraphs of Article 6, the first paragraph of Article 15 and various paragraphs of Article 16 of the Regulation will be fined 8 thousand 687 TL.
In this context, operators must carry out their activities in accordance with the principles of security, environment, accessibility and public interest, ensure service continuity and comply with the relevant legislation.
Among the obligations set out in the regulation are operators 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 service to people under the age of 15.
In addition, speed and prohibited zone rules must be implemented, improperly parked scooters must be collected within the specified period, the identity information of the scooters must be written visibly, the necessary lighting and reflector equipment must be available, the minimum charge level must be ensured, and accident and complaint data must be reported.
Violations of these obligations will be subject to administrative fines within the scope of relevant paragraphs.
50 THOUSAND TL FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT PROVIDE DOCUMENTS DURING THE INSPECTION
An administrative fine of 50 thousand TL will be imposed on those who do not submit the information or documents required for the audit to the authorities specified in the legislation.
According to the regulation, if more than one violation is committed at the same time, a separate administrative fine decision report will be prepared for each misdemeanor. If the violation is committed with more than one e-scooter, a separate penalty will be applied for each e-scooter.
Minutes regarding administrative fines can also be prepared electronically. The procedures and principles regarding the preparation of electronic minutes will be determined by the administration.
