Electric Scooters in Cyprus: Up to 90 Days of Detention for Offenses

Electric scooters in Cyprus are set to face further, more severe sanctions. The Ministry of Transport has prepared a regulation that will allow for the temporary seizure of devices belonging to those who break the rules.

Depending on the offense, scooters can be impounded for between 30 and 90 days. This new measure is intended to facilitate enforcement following a rise in serious injuries and fatalities related to road accidents.

Electric scooters in Cyprus: when can they be stopped?

The draft regulation was prepared by the Ministry of Transport.

As Haris Christodoulou from the Department of Public Works informed, temporary suspension of the device will be possible primarily in the event of more serious violations of the applicable rules.

This applies, among other things, to riding on roads where the use of electric scooters is prohibited.

The sanction may also be applied to a person under 17 years of age and in the event of exceeding the maximum permitted speed of 25 km/h.

Depending on the type of violation, your device may be suspended for a period of 30 to 90 days.

The new regulations are not in force yet

The option of temporarily stopping scooters is not yet implemented.

The draft of the relevant regulation has already been prepared, but it is to be submitted for public consultation soon.

The document will then be submitted to the Legal Service of the Republic of Cyprus for legislative review.

Only the completion of this procedure will allow the new tool to be introduced into practice.

The age of 17 is already in effect

However, not all changes are yet to be planned.

Parliament previously tightened regulations on personal mobility devices. Amendments published in April 2026 raised the minimum age for electric scooter users from 14 to 17 years old.

The maximum speed allowed has also been increased from 20 to 25 km/h, while introducing additional technical requirements and expanding the powers of relevant services and local authorities.

This means that a person under 17 years of age cannot legally use an electric scooter under the terms of Cypriot law.

The problem is law enforcement

Officials emphasize that the regulations themselves are already relatively strict.

Haris Christodoulou pointed out that one of the biggest problems remains their actual enforcement by the police and local authorities.

The chairman of the parliamentary transport committee, Sotiris Ioannou, shares a similar opinion.

He emphasized that once a law is passed and published, it should be effectively implemented. In his opinion, Cyprus needs not only more regulations, but above all, effective controls.

This also requires appropriate resources, officers and a real presence of services on the roads.

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The Ministry wants more effective sanctions

The new regulation is intended to provide the services with an additional tool to deal with people who, despite the applicable rules, continue to use scooters in an unauthorized manner.

Experience to date shows that simply tightening regulations does not solve the problem if inspections are sporadic.

The authorities hope that the possibility of confiscating the device for up to three months will be a much more noticeable consequence than the risk of receiving a fine.

However, the final shape of the new rules must be awaited until the consultations and legal review of the regulation are completed.

Sources: RIK, Department of Public Works, Ministry of Transport, Politis, Euronews