Romania is stepping into a new phase of urban mobility. Starting with the latest regulatory changes, certain electric scooters and electric bicycles will require mandatory third-party liability insurance, known locally as RCA. For years, these vehicles operated in a legal gray area—treated somewhere between pedestrian devices and motor vehicles. Now they are being formally recognized as real traffic participants with real responsibility. The shift is not just bureaucratic; it reflects a deeper transformation in how cities manage risk, safety, and fairness on increasingly crowded streets.
Why Romania is introducing RCA for light electric vehicles
The most obvious driver is scale. Electric scooters and e-bikes have multiplied rapidly in the last few years. They’re fast, cheap to run, easy to park, and perfect for short commutes. In Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, and Constanța, it has become normal to see streams of riders weaving through traffic, crossing squares, or coasting down sidewalks. With convenience comes exposure: more vehicles on the road means more interactions, and therefore more chances for conflicts and accidents.
Incidents involving e-scooters and e-bikes are not limited to sensational headlines. Many are low-speed but costly: a rider clips a car mirror, dents a door, or knocks over a pedestrian carrying a phone or groceries. Others are serious—falls at higher speed, collisions at intersections, and crashes caused by unpredictable behavior such as riding the wrong way or suddenly entering the roadway. In the previous system, compensation was messy. The injured party often had to negotiate directly with the rider, depend on goodwill, or start a civil lawsuit. In practice, that meant delays, uncertainty, and sometimes no compensation at all.
RCA closes that gap. By making liability insurance mandatory for specific categories of light electric vehicles, the state is creating a straightforward path for victims to be reimbursed. The logic is the same as for cars: if you use a vehicle capable of causing harm in public space, you should carry coverage for the damage you might cause.
Which scooters and e-bikes are covered
The new rules don’t treat every electric vehicle the same. The obligation depends on technical thresholds, especially maximum design speed and weight. In simple terms, the faster and heavier the vehicle, the more likely it is to fall under the mandatory RCA category. This approach tries to balance innovation with proportional risk: a low-power, speed-limited device used carefully is not the same as a high-torque, 40 km/h scooter mixing with cars.
For riders, the key takeaway is practical: check your vehicle’s specs. If your scooter or e-bike can exceed the legal speed threshold or has a higher mass class, you should assume RCA is required. Even if your model was bought years ago, the rule is applied based on the vehicle’s capability, not the purchase date.
What changes for owners and everyday riders
For a private owner, the change is straightforward. To ride legally on public roads, you need an active RCA policy. This adds a yearly cost, but it also adds a layer of protection. If you cause damage—whether to a pedestrian, bicycle, car, or property—the insurer covers compensation within legal limits. That protects not only the victim but also the rider from sudden, potentially large financial burdens.
Just as importantly, mandatory insurance signals a cultural shift. Until now, many people treated electric scooters as personal gadgets rather than vehicles. That mindset encouraged risky behavior: riding on sidewalks at speed, ignoring priority at intersections, or carrying passengers on devices designed for one person. When a vehicle comes with formal liability, users begin to see it differently. The scooter becomes part of traffic, not outside it.
Rental fleets and shared mobility
A different but crucial category is shared scooters and e-bikes operated by rental platforms. In this case, the vehicle is owned by the company but used by thousands of short-term riders. Mandatory RCA will likely be handled through fleet policies carried by operators, with costs built into rental fees. That means users should not expect to buy individual RCA coverage for a 10-minute ride, but they should expect platform prices and terms to evolve.
The upside is clarity. In the past, if a rental scooter caused damage, responsibility felt blurry. Now, insurance makes the chain of accountability simpler: the operator ensures coverage, and victims have a clear insurance route, regardless of the rider’s identity or solvency.
Safety, behavior, and the “discipline effect”
Insurance alone won’t prevent collisions. But it can change incentives. Knowing that a crash triggers formal claims—and possibly higher costs in the future—pushes some riders toward safer habits. Over time, it creates a social norm similar to driving: the more dangerous your behavior, the more expensive your participation becomes.
This may also improve relationships between riders and drivers. When a car driver knows a scooter rider is insured, the conflict after a minor collision is less tense. The expectation becomes procedural rather than emotional: collect details, file a claim, move on. That kind of predictability reduces street-level hostility.
Criticisms and open questions
Not everyone is happy about mandatory RCA. One criticism is affordability: scooters and e-bikes became popular partly because they were cheaper than cars. Adding a yearly cost might discourage low-income users and slow adoption of green mobility.
Another critique targets infrastructure rather than insurance. Romania still lacks safe, continuous bike lanes in many cities. Riders are forced to choose between unsafe roads and crowded sidewalks. In that environment, accidents rise no matter how well insurance is designed. RCA handles the financial aftermath, but it doesn’t fix the underlying cause. Many argue that mandatory insurance should arrive alongside better lanes, clearer signage, and stronger education for both riders and drivers.
Enforcement is another open question. Unlike cars, scooters usually don’t have license plates. Verification will depend on frame serial numbers, proof of ownership, and roadside checks. The early months will likely be a transition period where the public learns the rules and enforcement ramps up.
Bottom line
RCA for e-scooters and e-bikes is a logical step in a country where micro-mobility is no longer niche. Romania is acknowledging that these vehicles are now part of everyday traffic and must fit into a fair, consistent system of responsibility. If paired with smarter infrastructure, better rider education, and sensible enforcement, the rule can help cities become safer and calmer. If left alone, it will still matter—because victims will finally have a reliable way to be compensated.
If you want to explore insurance options or learn how RCA applies to your device, visit: asigurare-trotinete.ro.