Starting Friday, the Seoul city government and police will introduce the country’s first “scooter-free streets,” or roads where personal mobility devices are prohibited, in parts of the Mapo and Seocho districts.

According to city officials and the police, the ban will be imposed on Red Road in Mapo’s Hongdae area and in the cram school district in Seocho’s Banpo neighborhood between noon and 11 p.m.

Vehicles subject to the restrictions are electric scooters, self-balancing scooters, and bicycles powered solely by a motor.
 
A recent survey of one-thousand Seoul residents found that around 79 percent have experienced inconvenience due to other people using personal mobility devices, with many raising concerns about the potential for accidents.

The city government will determine whether to extend the ban to other areas of the capital after examining the results of the pilot program.