The Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) will impose an administrative penalty on the shared e-bike operator Ride Mobility (SIA “Ride”) for failing to suspend its operations as requested by the PTAC, the agency’s director Zaiga Liepiņa told the media on Friday.
The amount of the fine is yet to be determined.
Liepiņa explained that, as “Ride” has not cooperated with the PTAC, a decision on penalties is being prepared. The PTAC is currently awaiting additional information requested from the service provider for an in-depth assessment, while also forming a risk assessment commission together with the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), State Police, and other institutions.
According to Liepiņa, “Ride” is operating in an unacceptable and irresponsible manner by failing to provide a safe service. She noted that PTAC has received objections from “Ride.” “In this submission, the provider’s attitude toward safety is formal. They claim that age verification does not apply to them and is too expensive, yet the company’s own rules state that these e-bikes can only be used by people aged 18 and over, but no checks are enforced,” Liepiņa said.
Asked whether PTAC can halt “Ride’s” operations, Liepiņa replied:
“We work in a state governed by the rule of law, according to legislation.
We are moving forward and preparing decisions.”
Aivis Ozoliņš, Head of CSDD’s Registration Department, explained that “Ride” has noticed “legal loopholes,” as these vehicles are classified as bicycles. He emphasized that amendments to the Road Traffic Law are being prepared to separate such vehicles (“self-propelled bicycles”) from the general bicycle category and to impose additional requirements, such as registration.
As previously reported by LETA, “Ride” on Friday did not suspend its services and instead sent a letter to PTAC contesting the validity of the decision, CEO Edgars Jākobsons told the agency.
He explained that the company, together with its lawyers, had analyzed the PTAC decision and sent a letter stating that, in their view, the ruling is disproportionate and unjustified.
“Most likely, PTAC will respond to us, and then we will assess their arguments,”
Jākobsons said.
On Thursday, the 2nd of October, PTAC decided to suspend the services of Ride Mobility. The decision followed a call from Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (United List) to review the company’s operations, after the death of two girls born in 2012, who were struck and killed by a train in Imanta while riding a Ride Mobility rental scooter.
Kleinbergs explained that the main concern was that Ride Mobility aggressively classified its vehicles as self-propelled bicycles rather than electric mopeds. The company’s vehicles are fitted with pedals that riders do not actually use, but this classification allowed the vehicles to fall under bicycle rules, lowering the legal requirements. If classified as mopeds, children would not be allowed to use them and riders would need a driving license.
PTAC stressed that consumer safety is a priority, especially in cases involving children. Following the teenagers’ deaths, PTAC began an investigation into the safety of the company’s services.
The PTAC
has urged all consumers, particularly young people and their parents, to use shared mobility devices responsibly,
following provider rules and the law. The agency also reminded that using e-scooters and other micromobility tools without proper preparation and age verification poses serious risks both to users and those around them.
PTAC also called on other service providers to ensure effective age verification mechanisms to prevent underage users from accessing such vehicles.
As reported, on Wednesday, the 1st of October, in Riga near Imanta railway station, two girls died after being hit by a train while riding a rental e-scooter.
Kleinbergs has called on PTAC to consider withdrawing Ride Mobility’s vehicles from circulation. He also urged operators – if they want to save children’s lives – to remove these vehicles from the streets. The mayor has instructed the Department of Public Space and Mobility to inspect all pedestrian crossings over railway tracks and develop solutions to improve safety, such as installing barriers to prevent easy crossing of tracks.
Meanwhile, Jākobsons previously told LETA that Ride Mobility is seeking technical and legal solutions to prevent minors from using their parents’ or other people’s data to access rental e-bikes.
Options being considered include linking documents or payment cards to accounts.
Jākobsons emphasized that only adults are allowed to use the service on the Ride platform. To register, a user must confirm that they are 18 years old. At the same time, the company is gradually introducing additional age verification mechanisms to more strictly control underage access.
He also argued that Ride’s e-bikes are low-power electric bicycles, closer to ordinary bicycles than to heavy mopeds. Therefore, for safety and practical reasons, the company believes these e-bikes should be allowed on bike lanes and paths, and, where these are unavailable, on sidewalks – provided users maintain responsible speed and pedestrian safety.
According to the company, restricting movement to roadways only would not be a safe solution, particularly for young people and older users who use e-bikes as an alternative to private cars.
According to Firmas.lv, SIA “Ride” was registered in 2019 with a share capital of 2,800 euros. The company is fully owned by Jākobsons. In 2024, Ride reported a turnover of 1.156 million euros and a profit of 236,246 euros. This year, Jākobsons also ran as a candidate in the Mārupe municipal elections on the New Unity party list.
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