Electric Scooters

Mobility companies around the world are creating and offering sustainable transport solutions. One of the popular solutions is the electric scooter or e-scooter. The e-scooter’s can be seen scattered around town centres and a few miles out in suburbia, and are now a regular choice for people as a means of transport for work, education and leisure destinations.

Companies such as Voi have provided a network of battery powered e-scooters accessible by way of a smartphone app. The e-scooters, as they are generally known as, subject to availability, can be activated by the app and used within the designated network boundary. In the UK, to date, thirteen cities have e-scooters deployed.

Fee charging is by way of either pay as you go (by the minute), daily passes or subscription plans. Payment details can be pre setup in the app. The e-scooters should be ridden on the road network and cycle paths, avoiding use of pavements and public walkways. They are equipped with small lights and can be ridden at night (until the designated cut-off time). The scooter companies advise on how to ride safely and what to wear to protect oneself. However, safety cannot be policed and the safety of the user is down to user preference whether to wear protective clothing and a helmet or not.

The e-scooters are available for use for approximately 19 hours a day, allowing them to be picked-up by company personnel with vans and placed at base stations for overnight re-charging.

For those cities with the e-scooters deployed, everyone has seen some mis-use in the sense of either, two up riders, young riders that would not yet have a driving licence, riders under the influence of drink or drugs, and sometimes unfortunately the use of an e-scooter in a crime situation. Bags, laptops and phones have been swiped by a passing criminal and they have been used to flee a crime scene.

Technically, these scooters will take a weight of up to 100KG (15stone, 10lbs in old money). They have fitted indicators and a phone holder so you can easily glance at the GPS /app en route. Speed is limited to 15km/h.