Electric scooters will be available to hire in the City of London and Canary Wharf from 7 June. Other locations participating in the capital’s trial are the boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Richmond upon Thames.
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Their use will also be permitted in Tower Hamlets, a so called ‘ride through’ borough where rentals cannot begin or end. Lambeth and Southwark are seeking to take part in the trial at a later stage.
Scooters will be available to hire from operators Dott, Lime and Tier and their maximum speed will be limited to 12.5mph, lower than for rental schemes in other towns and cities.
Further safety measures will see lights at the front and rear of the vehicles permanently switched on throughout a rental, and the introduction of audible warning systems. Scooters will not be permitted to be ridden on footways, but will be allowed on cycleways.
All operators have been obliged to ensure that rental prices take into account the needs of those on lower incomes and to offer discounts to certain groups where appropriate, including key workers.
Between 60 and 150 e-scooters will initially be available to rent in each of the participating boroughs. Operators deemed to have demonstrated strong performance and compliance may be able to increase the number of e-scooters in their fleet over the course of the year long trial. Those who do not may be required to reduce their numbers.
Designated parking bays will be provided in each participating area and geofencing technology will ensure that e-scooters can only be parked in those bays. Mandatory response times have been imposed for the operators to address cases of scooters being improperly parked, those that are damaged or causing an obstruction.
Boroughs will also be able to specify ‘go slow’ areas where the speed of e-scooters will be automatically limited to 8mph.
London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman said: “We want to ensure a green, sustainable recovery from Coronavirus, and e-scooters are an alternative to cars that could help with this.”
Transport for London’s e-scooter trial lead Helen Sharp added: “Safety remains our number one priority and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure the trial meets the needs of everybody living in, working in and visiting the trial areas.”
London Councils’ transport and environment committee chair Philip Glanville said: “It will be important to see how this new service impacts London’s existing transport network and carbon emissions and how inclusive it is of the travel needs of all Londoners – especially those on lower incomes.”
Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety’s executive director David Davies told TP Weekly News: “We welcome the emphasis on safety and learning that Transport for London has placed on these trials. The London rental e-scooters will be limited to 12.5mph with other features to try and ensure that they are used safely and in a socially responsible way. Not all local authorities have taken this approach.”
He added: “It remains to be seen what impact the trials have on use of private e-scooters, which is illegal.”
For further analysis on the roll out of rental electric scooters, see Transportation Professional’s May issue, page five.
(Photograph: Transport for London)
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