Grabbed! How the PMD Ban Almost Immobilised the Food Delivery Industry

In 2013, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) published the Land Transport Master Plan 2013, where additional foci were placed on improving commuters' experiences in the first and last legs of their travelling journeys. The LTA actively promoted the theme of "active mobility" where the use of bicycles and personal mobility devices (PMDs) were encouraged as a means of transport over short distances. Due to the affordability and conveniences of PMDs, the population of PMD users grew steadily in Singapore over the next three years. The boom also saw an uptake on PMDs in the food delivery service industry as service providers saw PMDs as an efficient and cost-effective means of transport in the area-of-operation. The increased PMD traffic on the shared footpath, however, resulted in a rising trend of accidents between PMD users and pedestrians. Voices of dissent swelled and concerned Members of Parliament (MPs) continuously highlighted the issues on safety and control of PMDs during Parliamentary sittings. Consequentially, the Singapore government announced on 4 November 2019 that PMDs or e-scooters would be banned on all public footpaths. The announcement caught many PMD users by surprise as the campaign of "active mobility" promoted actively by the government barely took off six years prior. What are the change processes that were carried out and what were some of the communication barriers affecting this change in policy?

• Change management
• Interpersonal communication
• Organizational behavior