Tunisia moves to regulate electric scooters amid chaotic use

Tunisia is moving to regulate the increasingly popular electric scooter market, which currently operates without a specific legal framework. A working group is finalizing legal texts to govern the importation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of these motorized personal transport devices.

Saber Khafifi, the general coordinator of the national multisectoral road safety strategy, announced that a detailed specifications document has been completed and will soon be published. This document, developed with input from 14 ministries, aims to set conditions for importing and producing motorcycles and to definitively regulate the use of both motorcycles and electric scooters.

The initiative comes as electric scooters see growing use in Tunisia amid a legal vacuum. Lotfi Gharbal, a member of the Tunisian Road Safety Association's national office, highlighted the current chaotic importation of electric scooters due to the absence of clear specifications and technical standards. He noted the ambiguity stemming from a lack of official statistics and specific regulations, urging a swift closure of this legal gap.

Gharbal recalled that electric scooter speeds should not exceed 25 km/h. He pointed to France's strict regulations, including age limits, dedicated lanes, sidewalk bans, mandatory insurance, and prohibitions on phone or headphone use while riding. Criticizing Tunisia's legislative void, he called on the Ministry of Transport to expedite clear rules for these vehicles and advocated for an independent road safety body to monitor new transport modes and adapt regulations.

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Elaboré avec la participation de 14 ministères, ce document vise à réglementer les conditions d’importation, de production et de commercialisation des motos, tout en intégrant un encadrement définitif de l’usage des motos et des trottinettes électriques.