Songpa-gu's Triple-Benefit Idea to Tackle Abandoned Electric Scooters

Integrated Shared Mobility Reporting System Operational from This Month
Electric Kickboards and Electric Bicycles Can Be Reported

Seungmin Kim (41), who commutes by car, gets out of his vehicle every time he enters or exits the parking lot. This is to move the electric kickboards carelessly left in front of the multi-family housing parking lot. Even when he tries to report it out of frustration, it is not easy to find where to report. Calling the contact number attached to the kickboard often fails to connect properly.

Jaekyung Lee (38), who enjoys walking and jogging in the city, is also quite bothered by the electric kickboards. He has almost fallen after bumping into electric kickboards lying haphazardly on the sidewalk.

Once seen as a symbol of the sharing economy, electric kickboards have become a nuisance in urban areas. This is due to the increase in the number of operating companies and the significant rise in the number of electric kickboards in operation, while safety awareness and proper usage culture have not been established. While convenient when used properly, there are risks of accidents during operation, and after use, the electric kickboards left scattered around threaten safety and increase stress levels.

As complaints about these inconveniences continue to rise, Songpa-gu in Seoul has established and started operating an 'Integrated Shared Mobility Reporting System' this month. Not only electric kickboards but also electric bicycles are subject to collection requests. According to Songpa-gu, this system is expected to be effective in preventing the vicious cycle where residents wander not knowing where to report, and delays in response cause mutual inconvenience.

A representative from the Songpa-gu Urban Transportation Division explained, "Most companies do not have their own call centers, so complainants had to request collection directly from each company or go through the district office, which was inconvenient. From now on, requests for action can be made faster and more conveniently."

From the perspective of shared mobility companies, it is possible to immediately grasp the reported issues aggregated by the district office and resolve problems before towing occurs. Electric kickboards are subject to the Road Traffic Act just like electric motorcycles, requiring a driver's license to operate, and can be towed and fined for parking violations.

Electric scooters left unattended, obstructing pedestrians' passage. (Photo by Songpa District Office)

If you want to report abandoned electric kickboards or electric bicycles, you can easily report the device by address on the district office website. Collection requests are possible for all electric kickboards and electric bicycles from the seven shared mobility companies operating in Songpa-gu.

The number of electric kickboard complaints and civil petitions received annually in Seoul is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Last year alone, Songpa-gu received 16,835 reports through Seoul's electric kickboard parking violation reporting system (towing reporting system).

This can also be estimated from the actual number of towed cases and fines imposed. In the past year (September 2022 to August 2023), a total of 57,107 electric kickboards were towed and fined in Seoul. Gangnam-gu had the highest number with 6,831 cases, followed by Seongdong-gu with 5,562, Seocho-gu with 4,993, and Songpa-gu with 4,664. The towing fee per vehicle is 40,000 KRW, and a storage fee of 700 KRW per 30 minutes is charged until the vehicle is retrieved from the towing storage. Even excluding storage fees, the towing fees imposed on shared mobility companies by Seoul City over the past year amount to over 2.3 billion KRW.

Since the usage rate of electric kickboards is high in areas with a large young population and dense offices and officetels, there were many towing cases. Actual complaints and reports are much higher than the towing cases, and including electric bicycles, which are not subject to towing, the number of cases could increase further.

A representative from the Songpa-gu Urban Transportation Division said, "We have created a channel at the Songpa-gu level to connect shared mobility companies and complainants. It can be seen as a win-win-win situation that improves convenience for complainants, reduces towing fee burdens for companies, and increases work efficiency for public officials." Reporter Minjin Kim