An e-scooter rider is asked to push his scooter along after being stopped by a police officer in … [+]
An influential group of U.K. parliamentarians has concluded that the government “should take swift action to legalise the use of privately owned e-scooters on roads and cycle lanes.”
Parliament’s transport committee added that: “We would expect this to take place within the next 18 months.”
In September, one of the rental trials in Coventry was paused after only five days of operation after users were seen illegally mounting the sidewalk—the transport committee’s e-scooter report, released on October 2, recommends that the privately-owned devices are therefore not allowed to be used on sidewalks (known as “pavements” in the U.K.)
“The Government should ensure that the law clearly prohibits the pavement use of e-scooters,” urged the committee stressing that there must be “robust enforcement measures in place and that such measures are effective in eliminating this behaviour.”
The parliamentarians favored the use of privately owned e-scooters over rental ones because rental e-scooters are “left on pavements as ‘street clutter.’”
The Government will need to evaluate “whether stronger regulations to specify where users must deposit rental e-scooters after their journey is effective in eliminating these problems,” said the committee’s report.
“This ought to be done before making a decision on whether to legalise rental e-scooters on a more permanent basis.”
Shopper rides his eScooter on the sidewalk past Selfridges, London, England. (Photo by Richard Baker … [+]
The parliamentarians expressed worries that e-scooter use—which they classified as not being part of “active transport”—could attract users away from cycling, walking and public transport, but not car use.
“It would be counter-productive if an uptake in e-scooters, whether rental or private, primarily replaced people undertaking more active and healthy forms of travel, such as walking, cycling, and even using kick-scooters,” said the e-scooter report.
“The Department for Transport’s focus should be on encouraging the use of e-scooters to replace short car journeys rather than walking and cycling,” added the parliamentarians.
Cycling and walking route charity Sustrans told the committee that personally owned e-scooters would be even more likely to replace walking than rental ones, as users can carry out their full journey from door to door without needing to locate a rental scooter first.
Motoring organization AA told the parliamentarians that a survey of its members found that one fifth of respondents said they would consider buying an e-scooter as an alternative not to driving but to walking and cycling. This was higher among younger people, with 32% of 18 to 24 year-olds considering one as a walking and cycling alternative, said the AA.
The parliamentarians heard evidence that e-scooters should be limited to 15.5 miles per hour, or even lower, but they decided that local authorities should, instead, set local speed limits.
“The speed of e-scooters should be suitable for the local environment they are deployed in,” concluded the transport committee.
“A “one size fits all” approach will not work,” it claimed.
