SINGAPORE - From December, businesses who employ riders using active mobility devices on public paths must ensure that they are covered by third-party liability insurance against injury and death during the course of their work.
Active mobility devices refer to bicycles, personal mobility devices (PMDs), power-assisted bicycles, motorised wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
The rule also applies to licensed device-sharing operators providing motorised devices for hire, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Oct 9).
"They need to ensure that their riders, employees and outworkers who use such devices are adequately covered by third-party liability insurance against injury and death during the course of work, under an approved policy," the LTA said in an industry circular.
These riders must be insured for a sum of at least $200,000 per claim and an excess amount that does not exceed $500 per claim.
The insurance schemes for electric scooter and power-assisted bicycle riders also cannot contain exclusions preventing them from carrying loads or using a device not registered in their name, said the LTA.
An employer who fails to abide by the requirements could be fined for not more than $10,000 or jailed for up to 12 months, or both. Where the offender is not an individual, the penalty will be a fine not exceeding $20,000.
These changes were first announced in February, as part of amendments to the Active Mobility Act, in order to provide victims in any accidents a greater recourse for compensation.
The revised laws are also meant to give employers of such riders greater responsibility towards their workers and members of the public.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng said that both the LTA and the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP) have been engaging the insurance industry to work out suitable coverage for accident victims and riders if an incident occurs.
"It is important for business operators who work with individuals who ride active mobility devices on public paths as part of their jobs to ensure that their workers are covered by third-party liability insurance. This will be implemented from Dec 1," he said.
A spokesman for Deliveroo told The Straits Times that it has been working closely with its insurance provider and the LTA to make sure its riders are covered adequately in accordance with the authority's requirements.
Foodpanda Singapore's head of logistics Lim Zheng Gang also said that the insurance plans the company has in place to cover its riders complies with the LTA's requirements.
The food delivery company started providing third-party liability insurance for active mobility riders in September 2019, and the latest renewal for this was last month.
"The safety of our riders, customers and public is important to us, and having third-party liability insurance provides a peace of mind to all parties should an accident occur," said Mr Lim.
