The Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament, has called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Bishkek City Council to urgently address the rising threat posed by electric scooters and mopeds on city sidewalks. Lawmakers claim that the growing presence of these vehicles has made pedestrians fearful and contributed to an increase in traffic accidents, some of them fatal.
Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, has formally appealed to the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Mayor of Bishkek to take swift and decisive action.
“Most scooter and moped drivers are children. They do not have driver’s licenses, and mopeds are not captured by traffic cameras. Many countries have strict regulations for such vehicles. We need to implement similar rules,” said Turgunbek uulu.
Lawmakers argue that the unchecked proliferation of electric scooters, often abandoned on sidewalks, makes Bishkek resemble cities in Southeast Asia. According to the Patrol Service, the capital has seen a sharp rise in accidents involving scooters and mopeds, with 186 incidents recorded since the beginning of 2025, resulting in six deaths and 207 injuries. This marks a 118% increase compared to the previous year.
In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has proposed a total ban on electric scooter rentals, asserting that rental users are the primary source of risk. Many of them ride at high speeds, ignore traffic rules, and operate scooters on sidewalks and narrow alleys. Authorities also point out that rental companies often neglect maintenance, leaving safety unchecked. The city’s infrastructure, they argue, is ill-equipped to manage the growing number of scooters.
“Everyone rides however they want, there are no rules and no responsibility,” a police spokesperson commented.
To improve safety on highways, the ministry also recommends mandatory registration for mopeds and the introduction of a new driver’s license category, M1.
Parliamentarians have drafted a bill currently under review by the State Security and National Security Committee. It introduces a new classification, individual mobility device (IMD), modeled after similar legislation in Russia. Under the proposal, all IMDs capable of exceeding 50 km/h, or with an engine displacement over 50cc or a power output above 4 kW, must be registered. Less powerful IMDs would require users to obtain a special license, available from the age of 14.
The Bishkek city administration has expressed support for the Interior Ministry’s proposals but emphasized that implementing the new rules would necessitate revisiting existing agreements with scooter rental firms.
