The new regulatory regime concerning electric scooter operators Leave a comment

The Electric Scooters Regulation (“Regulation“) was published in the Official Gazette on 14 April 2021.

The Regulation lays out the legal framework for the shared electric scooter (“e-scooters“) business, paving the way to integrate e-scooters into the transportation network as an eco-friendly alternative.

The following is a brief summary of the legal framework introduced by the Regulation:

Licensing. Shared e-scooter operations are now subject to a two-tiered licensing procedure as follows:

o Businesses looking to conduct shared e-scooter operations must obtain an authorization certificate from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

o Persons who have an authorization certificate also need to obtain a shared e-scooter permit for e-scooters that will be used in their shared e-scooter activities to be issued by:

• The Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME in Turkish) in metropolitan municipalities,
• Provincial traffic commissions in municipalities.

Market Design. Shared e-scooter permits are to be granted in a way that discourages monopolization in the market. Each authorization certificate holder will be able to obtain shared e-scooter permits amounting up to one fifth of the maximum permissible shared e-scooter permits (up to 1/200 of the population, subject to certain exceptions) in a given district. In other words, the Regulation envisages a market structure where multiple operators are to co-exist.

The Regulation also enables the administration to impose a tariff with minimum and/or maximum prices applicable to shared e-scooter service.

Domestic Content Requirement. At least 30% of the e-scooter fleet must be domestically manufactured to comply with the domestic content principles to be determined by the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

Transition Period. Existing shared e-scooter operators are held exempt from the provisions of the Regulation until 31 July 2021.