London rental e-scooter trial

The official rental scheme blurs the lines between legal and illegal scooters. So many legal and illegal scooters are ridden dangerously on pavements I do not support any of them. I have been crashed into once, hurting me quite badly. I have also been clipped by another whilst crossing the road on a green man. They tend to be ridden with impunity, even if on the carriageway, often ignoring traffic signals.

Stick to hire bicycles. Stolen Limes are often ridden by hooligans but improve security and those that are hired are better ridden

People in Paris vote 'overwhelmingly' to ban electric scooters from streets of the French capital - https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/08/people-in-paris-are-being-asked-to-vote-on-whether-electric-scooters-should-be-banned.  London should take a similar approach and get rid of them as well.  They are misused and parked over pavements.  Their eco friendliness is debatable . See Though emissions deriving from mining these two elements (Lithium and Cobalt) are lower than those deriving from fossil fuels production, the extraction methods for lithium and cobalt can be very energy intensive – leading to air and water pollution, land degradation, and potential for groundwater contamination.      Although most fires caused by e-scooters appear to be privately (illegally) owned,  with our hot weather it is possible that we could see fires on our streets.   Lastly even with the lower speed limit all users do not wear helmets and are at risk of injury.

These scooter (and e-bikes) are absolutely a useful tool in encouraging people to use alternative modes of transport to cars. If you want less traffic you need fewer cars. And, like all new technologies, they just need regulations to help keep everyone safe. But they are part of the solution. 

In my area, Lewisham, I have not seen the trial scooters only the illegal ones in ever growing numbers and they are a nuisance whether on the pavement or the road. Apart from being silent, they are difficult to see from a car. The riders have no road sense and usually no protective clothing either. Scooters  should be banned. Having this trial has only given the impression that all scooters are legal. In my experience as a car driver they are dangerous, especially wobbling away from traffic lights and having to lean against my car to regain his balance. Lucky for him I saw what was about to happen and stopped my car otherwise he would have ended up under the wheels of the car behind me.

The e scooters I have seen have been mostly misused, riders on pavements weaving in and out of pedestrians.

The misuse of these scooters have made me feel very anxious when moving around not only my local area but in Central London.

The misuse of these scooters have blighted our streets, the dumping of scooters where ever they run out this has caused blockages of the pedestrian highways. 

Far too many people ride the r-scooters but responsible on pavements and on roads, with no respect for pedestrians and other road users. Scooters and e-bikes are commonly just dumped on pavements when users are finished, creating hazards for local inhabitants  both young and old. You need to take action to remedy this idiotic behaviour.

It’s a farce. The government should just get on and legalise private e-scooters by setting safety and other standards. I don’t understand why they are taking so long!

The licensed scooters are much safer than the unlicensed ones without speed limitation, both for the riders and other road users. Press for regulation and make sure data is collected to assess the impact. Boroughs need to ensure adequate provision of safe parking places for escooters, preferably on the carriageway not footway, eg every 250m or so. There should be a way for the public to notify the rental companies if illegally parked scooters and give them an opportunity to remove them, rather than summary impounding, as threatened by Westminster CC.

If you live, visit, work or study in one of the boroughs where rental e-scooters are available, what has been the main impact of the scheme? Has this been positive, negative or neutral and if so, why? 

I live and work in e-scooter boroughs. The overall effect is negative with pavement, cycle lane and road clutter. Good idea but people are terribly behaved.

The e-scooters are hard to hear and see when the whizz around you either while cycling or walking. Seeing people on their phones or even smoking while riding/steering them is absurd.

The scheme needs a hefty fine structure for leaving them in obstructive locations, riding without a helmet, etc.

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I find these scooters even when ridden legally are a hazard to drivers and pedestrians . I can see how appealing they are to ride but are just too dangerous I think

What do you think of the e-scooter rental scheme in London?  

Like many things it is a good idea until people ruin it. I witness and have to avoid dangerously abandoned scooters every day during my commute.

There should be proper fines for users who abandon the things and create danger spots for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

As a pedestrian and a cyclist the scooters usually worry me as users rarely wear helmets, usually run red lights, ride on pavements, etc.

A point which is made in this discussion is that there is confusion between the authorised e scooters which are legal to ride and those which are not.  My opinion is that this distinction is an irrelevance to the debate.  It may be legal for a car to be driven on a road but this says nothing about the safety or legality of the way in which it is driven.  What matters is the way in which e scooters are ridden - very commonly recklessly with a disregard for the safety of others and without even a number plate to identify riders who will have sailed off at speed.  What the comments do show is that the authorised e scooters create an extra danger which the unauthorised versions do not - the authorised ones are commonly strewn across pavements.  The unauthorised ones belong to their riders who do not leave them unattended.  

I still see too many e-scooters being ridden recklessly on footpaths and pavements, why don't they slow down when passing pedestrians? And sometimes there are two people on the scooters. Why don't the riders wear at the very least a cycling helmet and some extra visibility clothing?  But my biggest concern is that I can't hear these blessed things when they approach me from behind, and being older now I would appreciate a warning or ring from a bell to give me time to make myself safe. Mind you cyclists aren't angels in this regard either.

Concerned that riders are not always familiar with Highway Code, they jump red traffic lights and ride wrong way up one way streets. Often they’re on the pavement & use their phone for directions so not paying attention or care. 
some users are under age too.

Other than that, they’re a good idea

If I see an E scooter in motion, it is almost always ridden by one or two young teenagers, most often on the pavement. If I see them stationary, they are invariably piled on top of each other or left in the middle of a pavement. The disruption to walking on the pavement is akin to that caused by e-bicycles. But they are lighter to pick up and throw into the road where they belong.

I'm a cyclist, I have little personal interest in e-scooters. But it seems to me that e-scooters, legal or not, are a sensible and inevitable part of the urban transport mix as we de-car, to be welcomed. Priority #1, get rid of cars for personal travel around London. The catchment area for the school my five-year-old goes to is about 350m, and yet kids are dropped off in cars!

Like many things in our busy city, it's a matter of regulation and enforcement. An 'officer' standing on the high street near my house can see 100 e-scooters a day. Fine those being ridden illegally, confiscate those which are illegal. It's not so complicated... in time things will stabilise. Street parking is quite well managed in central London these days, do the same for e-scooters, and bicycles if you must!

12mph seems unrealistically slow to me, and insisting on 'official' rental seems plain unrealistic... enforcing standards - of manufacture and riding, is the way to go.

In the report:

• Less than 0.01% of trips resulted in serious injury (with the rate of serious injuries falling over time)
• 4.2 serious injuries per million km travelled
• No fatalities and 22 serious injuries

Without comparable figures for other modes, walking and cycling in particular, (per million km, and per trip) this is not helpful information.

I am replying in response to your new message, TFL. I don’t think you can divorce your trial of e scooters from the reality of people using unlicensed ones. you have basically licensed anyone and everyone to do what they like. I’ve hardly seen licensed scooters even though I go to Camden regularly and other boroughs. I think you need to take the safety concerns onboard. 

12.5 mph is a lot when someone is ignoring crossings, going through lights and on pavements. It would injure someone like me who has fragile skin and an osteoporosis. Never mind someone with impaired sight. They don’t make any noise so you can’t hear them. Please don’t stick your head in the sand and listen to what people are saying here. 

We don't want e scooters.

We don't want legal scheme e scooter.

Put more places to park normal bikes. Including close to train and tube stations to help daily commute.

At 12 miles per hour if e scooters ride on roads it is massively dangerous.

And if they ride on the sidewalk same as for the illegal ones they are dangereous.

They do not respect pedestrians.

They are actually a pseudo ecological way of moving.

We just don't want them at all.

I am deeply certain that 90pc of the Londoners share my view. 

I remember reading this in the Guardian - 2 April 2023

"Parisians have voted to rid the streets of the French capital of rental electric scooters, with an overwhelming 90% of votes cast supporting a ban, official results show.

Paris was a pioneer when it introduced e-scooters, or trottinettes, in 2018 as the city’s authorities sought to promote non-polluting forms of urban transport.

But as the two-wheeled vehicles grew in popularity, especially among young people, so did the number of accidents: in 2022, three people died and 459 were injured in e-scooter accidents in Paris."

As for my two-penneth worth, I pray that London will also get rid of those Uber dockless bikes.

Every day in the city, am obliged to negotiate around these infernal things, mindlessly abandoned in the middle of pavements.

And to think that none of this nonsense existed 10 years ago - what about in 10 years time?

Hi

Why is Tower Hamlets allowing motor bicycles and scooters free of charge access and parking within the borough? If I was to park my car anywhere in a public area of TH I would be charged or fined and that is good; my car needs to be used and then kept somewhere appropriate. Motor bikes and scooters are being left on footpaths all over the capital without charge. Does Khan not realise that roads and footpaths are paid for by us residents? Why is he allowing these multi national companies free use of facilities that we pay for? 

My suggestions:

Charge a fee for every electric motor bike and scooter. About £4 per week per vehicle would provide cash for our failing basic services. As an alternative (or additionally) we could charge a fee for every vehicle parked inappropriately; at the standard £80 parking fee it would generate a lot of money.

All motorised vehicle drivers to pass theory test before being allowed to use their vehicle. A practical test to be passed within 3 months.

Every user to be insured. If they can't get insurance personally the seller or renter will be liable for the insurance. This is fundamental to the safety of pedestrians. To confirm; any injury of a pedestrian by a motor vehicle will be the responsibility of the seller or renter. If it isn't possible to identify either of these parties there must be a central fund provided by all users to compensate.

Once both driver and vehicle is registered and insured, any of their owned or rented vehicles to be accepted for road use. 

1 month amnesty to obtain the theory qualification, further 3 months for practical. 

Vehicles to be used only on roads. Any vehicle used on footpaths to be charged at £100 per time charged to the vehicle renter with loss of license to the user and a requirement to retake theory and practical testing.

Delivery drivers to have a full UK licence before being granted employment.

I make these comments as someone struck on a footpath 5 times by motor vehicles.

Thanks