As announced, Monday morning began with a police operation to ban electric skateboards in Tirana and other cities. On several main streets of the capital, police patrols stopped skateboard users, notified them of the temporary traffic ban and seized the vehicles.
The measures follow the order of Interior Minister Albana Koçiu, issued via social media on Sunday, who announced that the circulation of electric skateboards would be stopped "until a special regulation is drafted for their use on public roads."
"I ask citizens to temporarily refrain from using electric skateboards, and businesses to refrain from investing in this activity until the situation is resolved," said Koçiu in the presence of the General Director of the State Police.
According to police, the ban was imposed after a traffic risk analysis.
"In 2024 alone, 991 skateboard accidents were reported, including some with fatal consequences," stated director Ilir Proda.
In recent years, skateboards have become a popular means of getting around in Tirana. They seem like an alternative solution to heavy traffic and unsafe public transportation.
But their ban has sparked debate: while authorities defend it as a security measure, citizens and activists see it as a hasty intervention that violates the right to movement.
"The problem is not the skateboards, but the traffic management"
For Artur Sulçen, a road safety expert, the problem does not lie with skateboards, but with the lack of traffic management and planning in general. He says that the authorities are not working to solve the problems, on the contrary.
"Here, they only remember the problems when an accident happens. Skateboards are road vehicles and should be treated as such, just like bicycles," he told Citizens.al.
Sulçe suggests that cities have integrated plans for light vehicles, with dedicated lanes and clear rules, not immediate bans.
"The Middle Ring Road has already made lanes for buses and emergencies, they can move there without hindering anyone. But instead of regulating traffic, we are moving the problems from point A to B, and from B to C, without long-term solutions", Sulçe continued.
For Gëzim Hoxha, another road safety expert, this police intervention was a necessary initiative to prevent accidents, but it is being implemented in a deficient manner.
"A good initiative, but hasty and delayed. Good because it seeks to prevent accidents, but it is delayed because it should have been done earlier and hasty because it is being done without a full legal basis", said Hoxha.
According to him, many skateboards exceed the technical limit of 25 km/h, entering the category of motor vehicles that require a license and insurance.
"There are skateboards that reach 60 km/h, while the Highway Code categorizes them as small motorcycles. If you exceed 25 km/h, you are no longer an electric bike, you are a motorcycle. And there are other rules for motorcycles: license, insurance, technical inspection. The problem is that the police act, but the ministry has not done its duty to clearly define the classification", continued Hoxha, emphasizing that the ban should be based on studied decisions and not on police.
Between security and the right to movement
For activist Migen Qiraxhi, banning skateboard users is an authoritarian act against citizens.
"It is ironic that in a country that proclaims itself a pioneer of technology and innovation, it bans an innovative vehicle like skateboards. It seems as if the minister of technology cannot even regulate this basic aspect of urban mobility," Qiraxhi told Citizens.al.
The tenant points out that the scooters are mainly used by low-income people who cannot afford to use private vehicles or taxis every day. He says the decision was made without public consultation and without warning.
"This is an authoritarian way to govern the city, not a democratic way to solve urban problems," he added, proposing concrete rules: age limit, mandatory headcount, registration, and minimum insurance.
The organization "Social Justice" considered it a blatant violation of citizens' rights. According to it, the order was issued on a holiday and has not yet entered into legal force.
"The inspection reports do not mention the order at all, but state that the assets are being blocked for 'lack of ownership documentation'. A bureaucratic trick used to hide the illegality of actions and deceive citizens", the organization said.
According to her, this action is illegal in principle.
"A state that functions with media news instead of laws, and with deceit instead of rules, cannot claim to protect order or the security of its citizens. On the contrary, it undermines it every day with its actions and inactions.", concluded the "Social Justice" organization.
Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
