Two weeks became more than a month: still no clarity in e-step case

ORANJESTAD — More than a month after Justice Minister Arthur Dowers told Noticiacla that greater clarity could be expected within approximately two weeks in the legal dispute surrounding   e-steps and e-scooters in Aruba, there is still no new public decision that clarifies the situation.

On August 5, 2026, Dowers told Noticiacla in an interview that the companies involved were submitting their final documents to the Court and that the government would file its response that same week. According to the minister, a judicial decision could then be expected within approximately two weeks.

The expectation was therefore that there could be more clarity around mid-August. It is now September 15.

THE TWO WEEKS HAVE PASSED

To date, no new public ruling or official communication has appeared explaining where the case currently stands.

The latest formal public ruling in the dispute, dated May 22, determined that the government could not simply confiscate the vehicles without a valid administrative basis. The Court did not declare the activity legal; the main point was that the government had to follow the proper procedure.

After that, the government gave operators a deadline to stop renting the vehicles or regularize their situation. That deadline expired in June, but the vehicles remained visible on public roads.

The government later imposed an order subject to penalty payments, which could amount to Afl. 500 per vehicle. The companies challenged this in Court and the legal proceedings continued.

In August, Minister Dowers indicated that the government expected the next step from the Court within approximately two weeks. Those two weeks have now become more than a month.

A SIMPLE QUESTION: WHERE DOES THE CASE STAND?

For consumers, tourists, hotels, commercial operators and police, the main question remains the same: what exactly is permitted today?

If the government considers the use or rental of certain e-bikes and e-steps on public roads illegal, how is that prohibition currently being enforced? If the Court has not yet ruled, what stage has the legal procedure reached?

And if there has already been a decision that has not yet received sufficient publicity, what does that decision mean for the companies and their users?

After months of conflict, confiscations, legal proceedings, deadlines and announced sanctions, the matter deserves a public update.

Noticiacla reminds the Ministry of Justice that the period of approximately two weeks mentioned publicly has already passed by a wide margin.

The community cannot remain indefinitely in a situation where the government says an activity is illegal, operators remain active and users have no certainty about what is permitted.

The question for the authorities is now very simple: where does the e-step case stand, and when will Aruba receive the clarity that was announced?