London rental e-scooter trial

I feel like my survey responses leaned on the negative, but only because there are no rental scooters available in my area, so I've never used one. I wish they were more ubiquitous because I'd like to use them!

Scheme sounds pretty fine. But no one is doing anything about the private scooters whose drivers sometimes behave so dangerously. I don't know how to tell the difference then I see them on the road behaving well.

e-scooters and e-bikes are powered by motors.  This makes them motor vehicles, despite their relatively small size.  Riders therefore need valid insurance and driving licences to comply with the law.  These vehicles are capable of travelling at considerable speed and collisions with pedestrians (or other vehicles) could result in serious injury.  Riding motor vehicles on footways is illegal.  Anyone caught riding on footways should have their vehicles confiscated on the spot, only to be returned following payment of a suitably robust fine.  If an offence is repeated, the fine should be significantly increased and the vehicle confiscated.  

I live in a borough where there is no e scooter rental, however there are a fair number of private e scooters about and they seem to be ridden mainly by teens and adults who don't have very good road awareness, if any, and  also ride on pavements. I am also concerned that even with adults on private e scooters there is a lack of road safety .e.g. riding on pavements and then suddenly veering into roads to cross junctions, carrying children on the back, people 2 up. on a scooter.

Despite the hierachy of care stated in the Highway code it seems pedestrians are the least supported in the public realm despite being the greenest and most affordable form of travel..

There is ebike use, hire and private, in our area and we do see them abandoned usually in green spaces. The commuting e bike users are usually considerate however there are some who regard themselves above the law much like some other motorized vehicles users.. I don't know how this can be regulated. The police clearly are struggling to cope with myriad of duties . Having more local community police would help as a visible deterrent.

My main complaint is that pedestrians are not well served with setting out of various street/road  structuring. We are pushed to the edges and are having to cross junctions which have multiple wheeled vehicles  lanes . I really feel sorry for the visually handicapped. It must be terrifying.

The contracts that the boroughs have with taken up with the e-scooter companies are not enforced by the boroughs or by the companies. For example, in LBHF all e-scooters have to be parked on an official parking bay. However, this information is not given to users in the apps. Also, any e-scooter not parked on an official bay will be removed within 4 hours but e-scooter companies never do this until they're contacted about the dangerous obstructions.

The official parking bays have taken up valuable pavement space in busy areas such as the main pedestrian crossings at Shepherds Bush Green - a major health and safety issue!

e-scooters are constantly 'abandoned' on pavements causing health and safety issues. The e-scooter rental agreement with the user stipulates that they will continue to pay and/or be banned from further rentals if the e-scooter is not parked in an official bay, but the companies do not enforce this part of the rental agreement.

e-scooters are constantly driven on pavements and in pedestrian areas, at speed. The companies can track this illegal activity but again do nothing and place us all in danger.

An e-scooter has a carbon footprint three and half times that of an electric car and almost equivalent to a petrol or diesel car. They're are not eco friendly or good for the planet!

Paris is not renewing their e-scooter contracts when they expire in August. London should do the same

I live just off a major road in inner London and I very much wish I could think rental e-scooters a good thing, because they could be eco-friendly, inclusive, and just plain useful.

But I've lost count of the rental e-scooters which have shot past me on the pavement at top speed, and so close I feel the draught. Once my bag was knocked from my hand by the rider's elbow. For pedestrians with mobility problems it must be really frightening.

I've been nearly crashed into by rental e-scooter riders as I crossed the road, because they whizzed along the road through a red light and across a green-lighted pedestrian crossing.

As a driver and a pedestrian, I've experienced riders weaving at speed through motor-traffic, causing cars to brake abruptly (which a danger in itself on our busy London roads); their unpredictable movements also cause problems in bus lanes and at junctions.

Around here riders often abandon rental e-scooters where they block pavements and crossings, causing huge risks to the visually impaired and forcing pedestrians with buggies and shopping to step out into the traffic to get past. 

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that since it's impossible to control who rides them or how they ride, rental e-scooters should be banned.

The survey questions were not a reflection of reality. For example are e-scooters generally parked in their parking space or not, there is only a yes, no, don't option. What if your experience is 50/50 yes and no or what if someone wants to say 30% no, 70% yes. other question also has limited options to choose from. So the survery will not produce an accurate representation of people's experience.

It also does not ask about their safety concerns, the fact for example that they come with little amount of light at the back and people wearing dark cloths, using them at night can create hazards both to themselves and the traffic.

I don’t agree with any electric scooters, rented or private. They are very dangerous around traffic and pedestrians and are misused. 

Second update to my post regarding dumped scooters, and in particular:

a) the difficulty of reporting these, and

b) the slowness or lack of response from Tier when these have been reported dumped.

The scooter I found dumped on Saturday evening in the children's play area of Fortune St Park and reported (with difficulty) by me has - Monday afternoon 2.30pm - still not been picked up.

The minimum govt standards quoted above include: 'Unique identification number on every vehicle in case of any problems'.

There is no advantage to a unique identification number if there is no ready means to contact Tier (I.e: no working number on the scooter) to report this number, and no response when you do.

If these scooters are going to be rolled out whether we like it or not, it is necessary that TIER is held to account on this.

How many vans do they have at any one time picking up dumped scooters across all these boroughs - especially at weekends when young kids take them out as a toy?

Why is there no prioritising of response - e.g: regarding danger (caused by where scooter dumped) or access (restricted or prevented by scooter dumping)?

They are dangerous to traffic on the roads and to pedestrians on pavements. They should be banned. They are a menace.

The e-scooter trials have been successful and have produced two years of data already. TfL seem to be intent on continuous studies and data collection to back up an already proven transport service. It's obvious that organised docking areas and more infrastructure is needed to prevent pavement riding. E-scooters positively contribute towards TfLs Net Zero targets. The problem I have is in the delay in regulating private e-scooters. Regulation is not only a straightforward exercise, but will also be considerably more impactful in terms of emission reduction and helping people through the cost of living crisis. E-scooters are one of the most cost-effective and accessible ways to get around London. I honestly do not know what further insight you will gain from this survey.

I believe that these scooters should only be allowed to be parked in designated docking stations which do not obstruct pedestrians. They should also only be allowed to be ridden on the road, not the pavement.

Un-docked scooters are a menace on our pavements. In Lambeth I see them all over, on the pavement, causing a blockage and hazard by obstructing the way. I am particularly concerned about the impact on wheelchair users, people with babies in buggies and people with visual impairment.

e-scooters have an important part to play in the future transport network ... If they take people out of cars, motorcycles then this is a good thing and should be encouraged ... I do have concerns about the safety of pedestrians when e-scooters are ridden on pavements ... but I think this is partly driven by cars and other motorised traffic making the roads so unsafe that the scooter riders feel forced onto the pavement ... the roads should be made safer by stronger enforcement of speed limits and safe spaces for e-scooter riders

Islington is not one  of the places in the trial, yet our pavements are littered with them forcing mobility scotters, people with buggies or shopping trollies etc. into the road.  There is no evidence of enforcement 

Every innovation, particularly in the field of transport, brings with it progress - in various forms - and risk, usually in the form of physical danger. It is not possible to have one without the other. In reality, the challenge is to balance the two. Worryingly, also in reality, the final decision is not based upon careful consideration of the pros and cons, but on who shouts loudest. They are invariably the companies who produce the machines and those who want to use them. Those of us who are in neither category, in this new world of uncontrolled, unbounded, unpredictable and unheard projectiles, will just have to start wearing safety equipment even when walking in our High Streets. 

E-scooters have had a negative impact, both rental and private ones. Although you highlight that it is illegal to use private e-scooters in public, this is not enforced. On my cycle commute along a canal towpath used by both pedestrians and cyclists, both e-scooters and electric bicycles (rental & private) driven too fast and recklessly often endanger pedestrians and standard, non-electric cyclists.

Recently, my husband was knocked off his standard, non-electric bicycle by an e-bike rider crossing the road from the pavement at speed who then did not stop following the incident.

Enforcement of age limit & driving qualifications needs to be increased, both for rental e-scooters and e-bicycles, as well as regulation for use of private e-scooters and use of all electric 'mini-vehicles' on pavements / cycle paths (they should really be restricted to roads only).

(I am posting this below as an update to an earlier post but thought I'd add as a new post as it demonstrate that a specific issue is dangerous in action:)

I work as a volunteer opening and closing my local park, Fortune Street Park. Last night a 'TIER' scooter was abandoned in the park, in an area where small children play.

Today there is a family festival on our street, including the park itself, meaning there will be hundreds of children milling about. The scooter is too heavy to lift and move as it is immobilised.

When I called the number on the scooter a message said "YOU HAVE DIALLED THE WRONG NUMBER". (I hadn't - I tried three times).

I've had to email the only address available - which seems to be a support line for the TIER app, not a report line.

Dog walkers confirmed that they've seen abandoned scooters several times in this tiny park.

     It is not acceptable

a)  that there is no working phone line available to report abandoned scooters

b)  that there is no dedicated email or online site to back up these reports and collate numbers and locations.

c)  that there is no follow-up if scooter users abandon their scooters in public places where it is dangerous to do so

In addition - if these abandoned scooters are the result of theft, why are scooters so easy to steal?

More enforcement and prosecutions are needed for breaches of traffic law/speed limits especially by those under 18 using e-scooters and e-bikes. Last week I saw a young teenage male on e-scooter travelling fast ride straight in to pedestrian who was crossing the road, fortunately the person was not injured.

Hi

Until motor vehicles (both bikes and scooters) can be rendered inoperable on footpaths they should be banned. If you are struck by a vehicle you have no recourse as there is currently no registration or insurance scheme. This should be easy to fix, both short and long term.

As the motor bikes have no docking stations, the owners must know where they are otherwise they wouldn't be able to find them to recharge. So until a process is applied to stop them working on footpaths anyone struck should be able to demand that the mayor and TFL, who have approved all of these vehicles, provides recompense for the injury. TFL can then seek indemnity from the provider of the vehicle. 

If you are injured by a vehicle, please sue TFL as they have licensed the vehicle that hit you.

Thanks

Deterrent to stop people scootering on pavements.

Scooters need parking stands in bays, so they don't fall on the ground. Often see them lying on the road in their bay or fallen beyond it.

I have not used one. I have a bike and cycle everywhere.

I like the idea of any mode of transport that isn't a car, especially when it is s shared community facility,  but this still needs more thought.