London rental e-scooter trial

Electric scooters should not be anywhere, pavements or roads. Most are private scooters not rentals. Most are ridden without helmets and without road sense. Dangerous to all. 

I'm not in favour of escooters in general. Unlike ebikes, the wheels are much too small which makes them very vulnerable to accidents involving road defects e.g. potholes .

I find e-scooters in general, very dangerous for pedestrians (silent but deadly) and I do not support their introduction at all. They are too often operated on the pavement, are inherently unstable and unable to deal with the poor surface quality on London streets.

The fact that only 10 boroughs are in the trial does not, of course, mean that they are not used a lot in other boroughs. We are only given one option for where they are ridden, but I frequently see them ridden on pavements as well as roads. They are often left lying on pavements as a hazard to others, and those who ride them on the roads frequently jump red lights. But there is no comeback with any of this, just like with bicyclists.

Plenty of e-scooters in Lewisham, mainly on the pavement, generally unmarked scooters. Where do the others come from?

Drop anywhere creates mobility access issues bc they often block the pavement or paths. In Copenhagen, rental bikes are picked up/ dropped in designated specific areas rather thank dropped anywhere. It ensures bikes/scooters do not block drives or the pavement.

I use e bike rental and like it a lot. I haven't tried the scooters as they look dangerous to me. I'm not opposed to the hire scheme but people should be fined for dumping them on pavements. Someone needs to prosecute the companies selling private scooters since they can't be used legally and are dangerous - how can it be legal to sell them?

Absolutely fed up with the way e-scooters are just dumped on the pavement. I'm not particularly steady on my feet and having to skirt around them makes me fee; unsafe and very angry that the young people who use them can't be bothered to park them properly. It's bad enough trying to negotiate your way around London as you get older, but these wretched things together with hire bikes similarly strewn across the pavement show just how inconsiderate of older people most people are. I'm sure there must be technology available that ensures a hefty fine if these wretched things are not parked properly in their bays, or at least on the kerb instead of across the right of way/pavement.

The E Scooter is both a danger for the rider and the public. Consider to support the riders balance he relies on the steering column which is needed to decide the direction of travel not as a counter weight to the riders body. Whilst you may see some environmental benefits, that is at the expense of safety and resulting actions by our NHS to scoop up the injured remains of the rider or a pedestrian. Many of the riders have little road sense in fact more than often they are driven on the pavement endangering pedestrians. Then when the rider has finished they are abandoned anywhere. The availability of these rental types has opened a whole new market for private e scooters which as we know are illegal in public areas ,however our hard pressed MET just turn a blind eye to the use of private e scooters on the road or more usually on the pavement and sometimes with two riders on the footplate. Last week I saw one being driven by a 13 year old with a 9 year old also on the foot plate. I reported to Police but heard no more even though this is a regular occurance. You need to reconsider as many cities in Europe have ,some of which have banned these dangerous devices. If you want an all electric system consider the types with a seat where the rider does not have to support his weight against the steering column or better still the pedal assisted electric bicycle and for sure you need better policing to ensure these devices are not used in pedestrian areas and you need a police force which is going to enforce the law on this, otherwise you end up with more injuries ,more work for the NHS a total waste of resources. 

Hope this helps Alan Plant

What I would be very interested to know is what mode of transport the people who ride scooters would otherwise be using. If it is motorised vehicles (cars/motorbikes), they are clearly a positive development. But if scooters are replacing walking or cycling then from an environmental and health point of view they have a negative impact. 

I have seen mostly Tier and Lime scooters dotted around. Although there were about 6 scooters on the pavement outside Honest Burger at corner of Pentonville Roadand Kings Cross Road, which took up most of the pavement and was a real hazard to get round them.  I saw this twice, but then not since then.

 wholly fails to address the commonly experienced dangers of electric scooters pedestrians, cyclists and others. Another failure by TfL

I hate the way escooters and hire bikes etc are just dumped/ parked on the street. As someone whose mobility is impaired, they are a constant hazard for me and I never know whether I’ll be able to reach the bus stop. 
 

I’m disappointed this is being encouraged. London is becoming increasingly in accessible for disabled people and it doesn’t seem fair. 

The issue is with the unlicensed ones. The police should be enforcing the law and confiscating and removing them from the streets, or prosecuting them. They have become a real danger on the roads.

the rental scheme appears to be a "gateway" to the use of illegal ones, which are now upgraded to greater speeds and are highly dangerous. I would stop any e-scooter or make sure that the illegal ones are enforced out of existence.  Normal bikes are fine - much better for the environment and much better for your health.

Stop the e-scooter fad.

More police pounding the street enforcing the law is required to confiscate e-scooters/charge users as well as those that flout any highway code/laws (be it pedestrians, cyclists or vehicle drivers). Where are they?

I cycle London daily and it recently feels like a warzone out there.  It does seem like it's everyone for themselves without any consideration for those around them.

Anyone can flout traffic laws if the law isn't visible to curb the breaking of it.

Licensed or not riders of both can be seen using them dangerously.

Making privately owned ones illegal seems bad to me. "Technology will help the green revolution" seems to be said a lot, carbon capture, electric cars, better public transport etc etc, then along comes a transport solution that emits no emissions, is easy to store at home and probably fit under your desk at work (folding ones) and it's made illegal. Why can't we own one? Why do we have to line the pockets of Lime Dott and Tier by hiring one each time?

Can we have Segways made legal too, another emissions free transport solution the UK road legal system also can't seem to deal with....

e-scooters have created a dangerous problem in London.  They have encourage the use of illegal e-scooters all over London.  Not only illegal, but no insurance and no legal status on the roads let alone the pavements on which they are generally used.  There is little or no control who rides these machines from young children upwards.  Most without without much instruction on road safety.  Personally in my opinion they should be banned.  At the least bring proper controls over their usage.  With some form of licensing, insurance, road worthiness (lights and means of warning others) and the use of crash helmets.  There has been too many accidents and deaths with these machines.

Never mind legally rented e-scooters, surely it is the job of the London mayor to make sure illegal scooters are not used. E-scooters are dangerous and can be lethal. I see illegal ones all the time, on pavements, in parks and the roads, going through red lights - no lights, no identification, no helmets. I have seen very young children on them, two people at a time, an adult with a child. I cannot believe how many infractions I have seen. Maybe if there was something done about stopping these illegal e-scooters, I might be more open to the legal ones. The situation is awful and nothing is being done.

I’ve seen several elderly and unsighted adults and children hit, severely, by these scooters. They are not something I accept as a good idea. Quite the reverse. Plus they zoom by on the pavement outside my house almost knocking me over ad I leave my house. They are an unnecessary pest!