Kazakhstan Plans Full Ban on Electric Scooters on Sidewalks

The Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan is drafting new legislation that would completely ban the use of electric scooters on sidewalks, Deputy Minister Igor Lepekha announced.

Initial restrictions on scooters were introduced in 2023, requiring riders to limit their speed to 6 km/h on sidewalks. However, compliance has been minimal, largely due to limited state enforcement and the failure of kick-sharing companies to implement speed-limiting technologies, The Caspian Post reports, citing The Times of Central Asia.

The issue resurfaced at the highest level on September 8, when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for urgent measures to improve pedestrian safety.

Lepekha stated that previously rejected amendments to scooter regulations have now been redrafted. “These proposals to tighten control have already been submitted to parliament by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but a number of them did not find support. In this regard, new amendments have been developed jointly with deputies, providing for a ban on the movement of electric scooters on sidewalks,” he said.

The Ministry also proposes new safety responsibilities for kick-sharing companies and wants to give local authorities the right to regulate scooter use within their jurisdictions. “The municipality could decide for itself on which streets and at what times they can be ridden and when they should be prohibited, thus defining zones,” Lepekha added.

Since the beginning of the year, Kazakhstan has recorded 361 traffic accidents involving electric scooters, resulting in 365 injuries and one death. According to a government report, authorities documented 29,000 traffic violations by scooter riders in 2025 alone, with 8,000 devices impounded.

As of August 29, the Ministry had recorded 213 accidents and 224 injuries, along with 24,000 violations and 2,500 scooters sent to impound lots. The figures indicate that in the two weeks following Tokayev’s directive, scooter-related violations increased by 5,000, and the number of impounded devices more than doubled.