Mexico City Delays Nov. 20 Fines for E-Scooters and E-Bikes
Semovi says fines for e-scooter and e-bike riders, due to start Nov. 20, are postponed. What the VEMEPE rules require and what riders should watch.
Mexico City will not start fining riders of electric scooters and e-bikes on Nov. 20 as planned. José Cáceres, the transport undersecretary at Semovi (Mexico City’s mobility ministry), told El Universal that the start of sanctions under the new rules for VEMEPE (personal electric mobility vehicles) is postponed, and no new date has been set.
The delay covers scooters and electric bicycles that go faster than 25 km/h, the vehicles brought under the city’s updated traffic regulations. Until a new start date is announced, riders who have not completed the requirements will not face the fines that were due to begin next week.
Why Semovi pushed back the Nov. 20 start
Cáceres said the city needs more time to move forward with registering these vehicles. Sanctions will be put off “for the moment,” he told the newspaper, while that registration work continues.
He spoke while attending a protest by app delivery workers who ride motorcycles. According to El Universal, one of the protesters’ demands was a delay in enforcing the traffic rules for VEMEPE.
The decision follows mixed signals earlier this month. On Nov. 4, during an appearance before lawmakers, Semovi head Héctor Ulises García Nieto said the ministry had not yet decided whether to give riders more time to comply. He said public response had been very positive but that there were technical problems with how people came in to register and that a lot of information was still missing, so the city was in what he called an information phase.
What the VEMEPE rules require
Riders of covered scooters and e-bikes are expected to meet several conditions under the amended Traffic Regulations (Reglamento de Tránsito):
- Use and respect the city’s confined lanes.
- Carry license plates on the vehicle.
- Hold a driver’s license.
- Have a vehicle registration card (tarjeta de circulación).
On Nov. 6, El Universal reported that traffic officers from the SSC (Mexico City’s public security ministry) had been trained to begin issuing sanctions to riders who did not follow these rules from Nov. 20.
What it means for riders in the meantime
Enforcement has been building since September. Beatriz Valdés Vázquez, the city’s director general for traffic rule enforcement, said officers began giving riders verbal warnings that month and explaining the changes to the regulations. Officers have also been handing out flyers about the VEMEPE rules to scooter and e-bike users on streets in the Centro Histórico.
The postponement delays the fines but does not cancel the rules themselves. Riders of e-scooters and e-bikes above the speed threshold still fall under the requirements for plates, licenses and registration, and the registration process Semovi cited as the reason for the delay is still underway.
What to watch next
Semovi did not give a new date for the start of sanctions. Cáceres tied the timing to progress on vehicle registration, so the next announcement from the ministry on that process will set when traffic officers begin issuing fines.
Source: El Universal
