Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, has become the first basic local government in the Incheon area to crack down on illegally abandoned shared electric scooters, detecting over 1,000 cases within 20 days of enforcement.
The district formed a crackdown team of six public officials and detected a total of 1,007 cases, notifying the companies of 1,002 cases for relocation and towing five scooters, the district announced on the 27th.
As electric scooters were being abandoned on roads or sidewalks, causing inconvenience to citizens and raising concerns about safety accidents, the district launched a large-scale crackdown starting from the 3rd.
Due to the district's active enforcement, the company operating 600 shared electric scooters in Yeonsu-gu reportedly ended its business and fully withdrew on the 7th. With the withdrawal of this company, the number of shared electric scooters operating in Yeonsu-gu decreased from 3,700 to 3,100 (operated by two companies).
The enforcement team is towing an illegally abandoned shared electric scooter. Provided by Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.
The district designated subway station entrances, bus stops, crosswalks, and bicycle paths as emergency zones, towing scooters if they are not moved within 30 minutes after a warning.
For general sidewalks not included in the emergency zones, scooters are towed only if they are not moved within two hours after a warning. The district charges a towing fee of 20,000 KRW per scooter and a storage fee (approximately 1,000 KRW per 30 minutes) for towed electric scooters.
The reason Yeonsu-gu is strengthening the crackdown on illegal parking of shared scooters is that, amid insufficient regulations and infrastructure related to rental companies, various problems such as illegal abandonment of devices due to the 'free-floating' system and lack of citizen safety awareness have caused safety accidents and other issues.
A Yeonsu-gu official stated, "We plan to monitor the effectiveness of the crackdown and additionally identify more target areas," adding, "We will strive to create a safe environment for the use of personal mobility devices."
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