APP-BASED E-SCOOTER RENTAL

Don’t fancy buying an electric scooter? Try renting one instead!

After the government announced plans to fast-track electric scooter trials in the UK, electric scooter companies are racing to take part in the upcoming experiment.

The trial was originally intended to take place in 2021, but has now started a year early due to the pandemic creating a need to take the load off public transport.

A number of electric scooter companies have confirmed that they’re in talks with local authorities to take part in the trials, hoping to launch rental services that allow people to hire e-scooters using an app on their phones. Those currently in talks with the UK government are US companies Bird and Lime, as well as European startups Voi and Tier.

Fredrik Hjelm, the CEO and co-founder of Sweden-based Voi, has said: “Right now we have an opportunity to reinvent urban transport and to increase our use of electric vehicles, bikes and e-scooters.”

Voi has been talking to Transport for London and London boroughs, as well as Manchester, Salford, Bath, Teesside, Darlington, Hartlepool, Milton Keynes, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Lime has said it hopes to “partner with boroughs and local authorities to offer our e-scooters as soon as possible”.

Meanwhile Patrick Studener, head of EMEA at Bird, said: “We’ve been very fortunate to have the UK’s only electric scooter pilot in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Over the last year and a half we’ve had MPs and city officials down to the park to see for themselves the advantages scooters – and specifically Bird – can bring to towns and cities throughout the UK.

“Following the government’s announcement on scooter trials, we’ve had dozens of inquiries from city officials who want to get their cities moving again; congestion and emission-free. We’re looking forward to further guidance from the Department for Transport on how and when we can implement our service here.”

You’ll need to drive the e-scooters on the road or in a cycle lane, and hold a valid driving licence. The DfT is looking to capture a range of person data outputs from the trials, as well as journey data such as time, duration, speed and location. They’re also looking to get accident data to improve their understanding of safety issues. If the trials are successful, then it’s likely that laws in the UK will be updated, making way for privately owned electric scooters on to the roads.