site.btaMPs Propose National Register of Electric Scooters

The creation of a national register of personal electric vehicles and their owners is proposed in a bill to amend the Road Traffic Act, according to a statement by BSP–United Left. The proposal was submitted by the chair of the parliamentary transport and communications committee, Kiril Dobrev (BSP–United Left), and his deputy, Andrey Runchev (GERB–UDF).

The register will be established and maintained by the State Agency for Road Traffic Safety. According to the proposal, the conditions and procedures for registering electric scooters will be determined by a single secondary legislative act of the Council of Ministers, instead of different regulations adopted by individual municipal councils.

“The aim of the bill is to introduce a unified automated information system that will be used by all municipalities in the country. This will make things easier for citizens who operate electric scooters in more than one municipality, and will also support supervisory authorities in carrying out their legally defined functions,” according to Kiril Dobrev.

Under the bill the Council of Ministers must adopt the relevant ordinance within three months of the amendments entering into force, and owners of personal electric vehicles must register them by July 1, 2026.

The proposed amendments also explicitly create a legal possibility for installing devices for monitoring traffic rules and video surveillance on traffic light systems. Until now, the lack of a clear legal basis has led to differing interpretations and varied practices among individual municipalities. The new provision aims to bring clarity and ensure uniform application of the law, the statement says.

Amendments to the Road Traffic Act adopted in July introduced a requirement for electric scooter riders to have valid third-party liability insurance and for the vehicles to be subject to registration. As a result of these legislative changes, electric scooters are not allowed to operate during the dark hours. The rider of a personal electric vehicle is required to use bicycle infrastructure, and where such infrastructure is not available, to ride as close as possible to the right edge of the roadway. In addition, the rider must operate a technically sound personal electric vehicle with a maximum speed of up to 25 km/h and must wear a protective helmet.