Mini-mopeds owned by the Latvian company Ride Mobility were supposed to be added to Tallinn's rental vehicle fleet last Saturday.

However, due to poor weather, the launch was postponed, and rentals should become available by midweek, Ride Mobility's Estonian representative Erko Tapp told ERR.

Ride Mobility will gradually introduce 1,000 mopeds to Tallinn, he added. The mopeds will be placed in the same parking areas that the city has designated for electric scooters.

In recent weeks, it has become clear that communication within the city government on this matter has been poor, and views on the issue differ.

Deputy Mayor for Communal Affairs Pärtel-Peeter Pere (Reform) told ERR last week that while mini-mopeds as a form of micromobility are undoubtedly beneficial, the city's responsibility is to ensure traffic safety.

"If the Tallinn city government does not make an effort to ensure that mopeds travel at a safe speed or that they only ride where they are allowed to, if the city fails to take the legal steps at its disposal and does not regulate traffic accordingly, then mopeds will move as they please. No one should be surprised if the city fails to do its job and Tallinn becomes even less pedestrian-friendly," he said.

Deputy Mayor responsible for transport Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) told ERR mini-mopeds are already more strictly regulated in Estonia than in Latvia and Lithuania. For example, in those countries, mopeds are allowed to ride on sidewalks, unlike in Estonia. He also argued that different types of light vehicles should be treated equally.

"Mini-mopeds are lighter than cargo bikes and, unlike cargo bikes, they are not allowed on sidewalks. Additionally, cargo bikes with electric assistance can travel faster than the 25 km/h limit set for mini-mopeds. Objectively speaking, cargo bikes are more dangerous in traffic," Järvan stated.

He also questioned why different rules and increased bureaucracy are being imposed on light vehicles such as electric scooters and mini-mopeds.

"Let me give a concrete example of what happens when we do not treat them equally: on the roadway, where they are supposed to be, a mini-moped is traveling at the 15 km/h speed limit we set for it, while at the same time, on the sidewalk, a scooter speeds past at 25 km/h. We all understand that this is disproportionate and unreasonable, and I do not support such bureaucracy," the deputy mayor said.

Meanwhile, Tallinn has drafted new safety and usage regulations for mopeds, electric scooters, and bicycles. Until now, these rules, including speed limits, have been based on agreements with rental companies.

If the city council approves the draft next Thursday, the city government will gain the authority to impose usage requirements for rental light vehicles, mini-mopeds, and bicycles. This includes traffic regulations, technical requirements, and the ability to set geographical, temporal, speed, and parking restrictions.

"The main reason we are introducing this regulation now is to prevent current and future rental companies from interpreting the agreed rules differently," Järvan explained.

Political parties join the debate

The dispute between the two deputy mayors has also drawn in their respective political parties. Last Thursday, the Reform Party's city council faction said it had summoned Järvan to explain the "rental moped chaos threatening the capital."

After Friday's meeting, the faction stated it had limited itself to a discussion and acknowledged that mopeds are a necessary alternative to scooters. However, they stressed that the risks to pedestrians must be seriously analyzed before allowing rentals.

"We have reason to believe that Deputy Mayor Järvan does not fully understand the chaos and dangerous situation that heavy rental mopeds will create on the capital's sidewalks — we hope he can change our minds," said faction leader Mati Raidma.

Isamaa did not hold back either. Its Tallinn faction said if Reform has concerns, it should amend the law at a national level and allow municipalities to limit the number of light vehicles in their cities.

Deputy mayors and their parties were not the only ones speaking out. Monika Haukanõmm, a member of the opposition Center Party and former head of the Tallinn City Center district, called on the Mayor of Tallinn Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) to take action.

"The leader of the team and the entire city government is the mayor, yet it seems that Ossinovski does not know or grasp how his subordinates are operating. Ultimately, it is the mayor who is responsible for ensuring safety in the city, and Ossinovski has failed in this task," Haukanõmm said in a statement.

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