Proposal:ElectricScooters

Keys for Light Electric Vehicles
Proposal status:	Draft (under way)
Proposed by:	Mueschel
Draft started:	2019-10-20
RFC start:	2019-10-20

Rationale

Many new types of vehicles like electric bicycles or scooters came into use in the past years and access restrictions for them are getting more and more common. Up to now, we only defined keys for electric_bicycle=* and speed_pedelec=*.

This proposal tries to formalize a set of keys for vehicles going by the common name of scooters and what they are (not) allowed to do. Like all vehicle types that exist in OSM, these are keywords that can be used in combination with other features like shops, workshops, parking, rental [...] to specify that these kinds of vehicles are available/welcome/serviced there.

Like with already existing access keys it is obvious that it will be impossible to define global rules with definite classifications. Law is and always will be slightly different in different countries, so that the precise meaning has to be established by local communities. Hence, this tries to set up a scheme for tags that can be adapted to local law.

Heavier vehicles with electric motors (motorcycles, cars, trucks) are out of the scope of this proposal. Due to the vast amount of different vehicle types and uses a more generic approach is needed for them.

Ambiguous current situation with 'Scooters'

Currently there are several tags in use for vehicles that are called 'scooter':

• scooter=* (almost exclusively in the context of charging stations)
• electric_scooter=*
• kick_scooter=*
• amenity=kick-scooter_rental
• mobility_scooter=* (which seems not ambiguous, but should be listed here for completeness)

as well as several other spellings like 'e-scooter'.

Unfortunately the main term 'scooter' can refer to unrelated types of vehicles:

• Mopeds (like Vespas)
• Kick-scooters, the"skateboard with a handle" type mostly used by kids
• Mobility scooters, used by physically impaired people

It seems like most of the ~8000 scooter=* were added using presets from [beautified-JOSM-preset] which doesn't explain the intended meaning. This ambiguity also exists in other languages, e.g. French ("trottinette") and German ("Roller"). Hence, I suggest to disentangle the types of vehicles and use different tags for them.

Proposed Tags

Vehicle Types

These tags refer to specific types of vehicles. They can be used, for example, if an access rule targets this specific vehicle, if a POI (shop, rental) offers this particular type of vehicle.

However, these are usually **not** appropriate to tag traffic signs showing one type of vehicle. In most cases traffic signs refer to a whole group of vehicle types and not to one specific one. In these cases a legal category tag should be used like those shown below.

Key	Current Usage	Description	Image
kick_scooter=*		Scooter, non-motorized.
electric_kick_scooter=*		Motorized scooters like those that can be rented in many cities.
electric_mofa=* electric_moped=*		Scooters with an electric motor. With a seat, resembling a mofa / moped / small motorcycle These keys should only be used as an access tag if there is a regulation that specifically covers mopeds and mofas with electric engines, but no other vehicles. This tag uses the same scheme as we already have for electric_bicycle=*. In any other case, use the dedicated tags moped=*, mofa=* and motorcycle=* instead.
mobility_scooter=*		Also part of the 'scooter' family are mobility scooters, usually used by older or physically impaired people
segway=*		one axle, two-wheeled balancing vehicle. (Should this get a more generic name instead of a brand?)
hoverboard=*		small, self-balancing board without handle with usually one or two wheels

(Legal) Vehicle Categories

Key	Current Usage	Description	Image
small_electric_vehicle=*		Motorized, electric personal transportation vehicles. This legal category typically includes self-balancing vehicles ("Segway") and similar devices but no "traditionally shaped" vehicles like electric mopeds. Often law requires insurance for these devices and sets a speed limit around 20 to 25 km/h. The precise definition of the category and which vehicles belong to it, depends on local legislation: in Germany the category corresponds to what law calls "Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge" in France the corresponding legal term is "Nouveaux Véhicules Électriques Individuels" in Poland law treats electric_kick_scooters (hulajnoga elektryczna) separately from other electric personal transportation devices (urządzenie transportu osobistego), so this category might be locally defined to exclude electric_kick_scooter=*	German sign Czech traffic sign
personal_transporter:powered=*		Motorized, electric personal transportation vehicles. This would be a comprehensive group combining all possible types of vehicle: self-balancing, hoverboards, segway, electric kick-scooters, ... Note that a long form of the tag is used because the abbreviation "pmd" might be problematic because of recycling:pmd=*.
personal_transporter:manual=*		unmotorized, manually powered personal transportation vehicles. This would be a comprehensive group combining all possible types of vehicle: kick-scooters, skateboards, ... According to local customs this might include low-powered mobility devices, for example those with a very limited speed (e.g. 10 km/h) which can be used on pedestrian areas and which don't require any license or insurance.

Problematic / Ambiguous tags not to use

Key	Current Usage	Description
scooter=*	8000 times on charging stations	There doesn't seem to be any indication what type of vehicle this tag is meant to refer to. Due to its ambiguity, it's proposed to deprecate this key.
electric_scooter=*		Ambiguity between kick-scooter-like and moped-like vehicles
e_scooter=*		Ambiguity between kick-scooter-like and moped-like vehicles
vehicle:conditional=*@electric	not used up to now	Conditional tags do provide a lot of flexibility, but make tagging quite complicated. Tags like these might be required to properly address restrictions for "green" vehicles (low emission, battery-electric, PHEV, ...) but should be precisely defined in their own proposal.

Tag Summary

This proposal defines the tags listed above:

• kick_scooter=*
• electric_kick_scooter=*
• electric_mofa=*
• electric_moped=*
• mobility_scooter=*
• segway=*

• small_electric_vehicle=*

This proposal deprecates the tags:

• scooter=* (because of ambiguity) This tag seems to be added almost exclusively through the preset for charging stations in our main editors. This preset does not offer an explanation which kind of scooter it refers to.

Where to use

• These tags can be used on any object that can be combined with access tags.
• Like other vehicle types, they can be combined with other restrictions (e.g. maxspeed:bicycle=*)
• Combined with service tags on repair shops (e.g. service:moped=*).
• For rental amenities, similar to motorcycle:rental=*

When NOT to use

The new tags should only be used if one needs to refer to a (electric) vehicle explicitly. If not, always use the basic names like 'moped'.

In particular they should not be used:

• ... if local law treats them identically to their base class.
  • E.g. if slow electric moped are treated like normal mopeds, only the moped=* tag should be used on all roads that don't have special rules.
• ... if there is no ambiguity between electric and non-electric vehicles
  • On charging stations the use of basic keys like moped=* is recommended because they are simpler and obviously refer to the electric variants.

Examples

Image	Link	Description	Tags
		This German traffic sign allows electric scooters, e.g. on pedestrian areas. The sign includes the whole group of "Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge", for example Segway-style vehicles are included as well.	small_electric_vehicle=yes
Mapillary image	26383289 26383289	This pedestrian area is explicitly allowed for bicycles and scooters. Slow pedelec are included in the 'bicycle' tag and don't need to be tagged individually.	highway=pedestrian bicycle=yes small_electric_vehicle=yes
		A parking location dedicated to bicycles and small electric vehicles in Germany.	amenity=bicycle_parking small_electric_vehicle=designated
	232922168 232922168	Dutch traffic sign G13 allows (besides bicycles) mofas without a combustion engine (or engine switched off). Thus, allowing electric mofas.	highway=cycleway mofa=no electric_mofa=yes

Comments

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