London rental e-scooter trial

A complete menace. Just a licence for mostly young men to dominate the roads and pavements and terrorise pedestrians 

I use crutches to walk, and every day the pavements of London get more dangerous. I can't move quickly, but I am expected to make way for people riding e-scooters - and bikes, e- and otherwise, too. Crossing the road is an increasing nightmare, as the only people obeying the traffic lights are motor vehicles. E-scooters may be green, but they do not belong on pavements, any more than any sort of bicycle does. 

They need to all be banned as they are very dangerous to users, pedestrians and other road users! Most dont follow any rules of the road, they weave in and out of traffic, they mount pavements and they never stop at zebra crossings or traffic lights often weaving dangerously around crossing pedestrians. I also worry about damage to my vehicle and other vehicles as they show no regard to damage they may cause, ive see on 3 occassions damage caused to vehicles and on all occassions they have just ignored it and ridden off.

I think having a legal e-scooter scheme is really important, as there is clearly major demand for this new, easy and environmentally-friendly means of transport.  I do see students on e-scooters (presumably their own) at either end of the day, and can imagine why.  Starting the scheme in central London makes sense - I either take cycle or tube into town, and if I've tubed it may want to get between events faster than I can walk.

The big problem with this scheme is that I never passed my driving test - it never really mattered in London. So the condition that you need a diving licence (misspelled as 'license' in the consultation, as is 'stationary') does to some extent defeat the object of the vehicle.  I'm not sure if this is a national restriction, but think it should be lifted. Otherwise, people will continue to use them illegally and without good road etiquette.

Even though they are arguably motor vehicles, if they don't go faster than 20 mph, e-scooters should pose no more problems than a bike.  I think rental and regulated private e-scooters should be permitted in roads and cycle lanes, but not of course on pavements or paths.  Docking bays should be standardised so they can be used by multiple operators and be in a greater number of convenient locations.  The convention of discarding bikes like Lime on pavements of course should be discouraged, but ideally by providing plenty of off-pavement places to discard them, such as parklets.

It doesn't matter if e-scooters are not legal in this borough, no one will  enforce this. It is the total arrogance of those using the scooters that bugs me. They have no care for pedestrians, traffic signals or other road users. They are invincible in their own minds and make the road unsafe for other road users. Cyclists have long been an unregulated hazard and now we have this debacle. There should be a fund for the relief of injured pedestrians to which the hire firms make statutory contributions, as should any borough that does not enforce the rules for scooting and cycling in their borough. 

I have been told that as someone who is retired, I would not have a financial loss but assistance with chores, self care and shopping is not always available free.

There needs to be a total ban on these highly dangerous vehicle.  We already have too many cyclist who break the law but who are not prosecuted as there is no way to trace them.

I think it is extremely dangerous to allow unqualified people to ride this type of vehicle in a crowded city such as London. In my limited experience of these vehicles are ridden recklessly and at high speed on both the pavement and road. The riders do not wear safety helmets so they are a danger to themselves and others. Is there an insurance scheme to cover any damage they may cause. 

E-Scooters are clearly Green and popular and should be encouraged and legalised for the private user and not just be promoted commercially. 

I can understand that they are convenient and useful but why are they mostly parked where they block pavements. I’ve even seen them left over pavement drops - how is a wheelchair user supposed to navigate that?  
somebody needs to address the parking of these things

escooters should be banned. They are a menace, they are a fire hazard.

I find a bike more convenient than an e-scooter.  More available, in more locations.  The e-scooter's small wheels are unnerving over potholes, drains &c.   They are less stable. You can carry more stuff on a bike.

As a pedestrian, e-scooters are more of a threat than a bike.  That may be because many are ridden illegally by cheeky folk weaving around.  Now we have so many cycle lanes bikes are becoming more responsible (at last!).  Except for food delivery folk, who are a class of their own.

e-scooters are ridden on the pavement at speed by the majority of people with a total disregard for pedestrians. E-scooters along with rent-a-bike schemes have made London pavements dangerous - people are being knocked over, hit and no one cares. It's all good for the environment you see, so if you're an elderly person you'd better stay at home and not risk your life walking to the shops via the pavement. 

Also dockless rental bikes are just left anywhere.

Most scooters are not parked properly in the relevant bays or they are removed and left close by, but across pavements either standing or lying on the ground causing hazards.  Scooters are not collected up often enough to remove them as hazards. Geofencing obviously doesn’t work.  This ought to prevent them being left in stupid places. Closer monitoring of use and abandonment is needed so the scooters can be removed quickly from non parking spaces.
Many are ridden on the pavement where they should not be.  I have also seen them being ridden with 2 people on board and by people under the correct age. They cause menace when they are not ridden correctly particularly as they make no sound.

Questions answer options not fully attuned to getting unbiased responses

E.G 

No option for Zero stars on scheme

Users should stick to the roads and wear helmets. 

I agree the comment that the police should be removing the illegal e-scooters and fining their users

I don’t think I have ever seen a rental scooter either for hire or being ridden, but private illegal scooters are everywhere. People are using them on pavements, on the road, with no lights at night or protective clothing. They seen incredibly dangerous and I can’t understand why they are not being confiscated.

What a shame the scooter survey is not qualitative by allowing at least one field for comments. Here in Brent all you see are (presumed) private scooters and twist-and-go high-powered e-bikes ridden by food delivery couriers. All thoroughly illegal - and condoned by the authorities. I suspect scooter hire is very niche indeed, yet the inconvenience they cause is disproportionately large.

I’m not sure who rental scooters are for; certainly not the London tax payer judging by the typical rider profile. 

I think the real question is what should be done about illegal e scooters? It’s rare issue many cyclists & drivers agree on.

why can’t TFL levy heavy fines on users and confiscate them. If a car is illegal it will be removed from the road so why the soft touch on these illegal road users?