After a serious incident in Limassol, we must ask: who thought Cyprus was ready for scooters? How were they allowed to roam freely when many cities and villages still look like construction zones?
With dug-up roads, unfinished sidewalks, and projects changing routes daily, pedestrians, kids, cyclists, and scooter riders are expected to ‘coexist’ without proper infrastructure. The Police reported that around 3:20 PM on Monday, December 8th, a 43-year-old woman with her one-year-and-four-month-old child was hit by an electric scooter while crossing a pedestrian path on a bike lane near October 28th Street in Limassol. They are investigating the circumstances of the collision.
This incident shows another unfortunate mix of factors. It’s a result of what we all see: electric scooters, popular in many European cities, need proper infrastructure, clear rules, and education. While they are seen as essential transport abroad, in Cyprus, they arrived in places that still look like big construction sites.
Everywhere you turn, roads and sidewalks are being worked on—projects that could take years. In this chaos, we introduce a mode of transport that could be dangerous for pedestrians, kids, and the riders themselves. Each incident reminds us that micro-mobility can’t work safely without infrastructure and rules. In countries where scooters are common, there are clear bike lanes, signs, separate areas for movement, and police to enforce the rules. There’s also education, culture, and discipline.
In Cyprus, except for a few cases, bike lanes are interrupted every few meters; pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders share the same space with poor lighting and little oversight. Many riders lack experience or don’t realize that ‘a little fun’ on a scooter can put lives at risk.
The users aren’t solely to blame. Those who allowed this mode of transport without basic support standards share the blame too.
If we really want to protect pedestrians, children, and scooter operators themselves, we can’t keep going like this. We need special infrastructure along with unified rules and strict supervision. Until then, scooters can’t operate as if we’re in a European country when our roads look like obstacle courses. The Limassol Traffic Department is still investigating. Anyone with information about the incident should call 25805252 or the Citizen’s Line at 1460.
BY CHRISTINA PELEKANOU
