E-scooter boss believes scheme will be extended
WIND ‘CONFIDENT’ OF TRIAL OK IN ‘A MATTER OF WEEKS’
THE boss of Nottingham’s controversial e-scooter scheme is “confident” it will be extended.
Wind, a micro-mobility transport company based in Berlin and Barcelona, is operating a 12-month trial scheme in the city.
The trial comes ends next month, but Lukasz Rybak, operations manager for the scheme, believes it will be extended by Nottingham City Council.
He told the Post that there was “a lot of red tape” and final approval was required from the Department for Transport.
But he said: “We have a really good relationship with Nottingham City Council. I am fairly confident we will be able to operate past October.”
He said a number of processes had been put in place to help people stick to the correct and legal usage of the e-scooters.
These have included parking fines and account suspensions.
In the future he hopes there may be room for up to 1,000 e-scooters alongside more parking spaces.
Speaking of when a decision will be made, he added: “It is a matter of weeks, definitely.”
The scheme has caused great concern in the city, with residents complaining about e-scooters blocking pavements and making life difficult for pensioners and blind and disabled people.
There have been complaints about scooters being left “littered” across the city. Almost 1,000 e-scooter riders have been warned – and dozens banned – for riding them illegally.
But some residents generally praised the scheme.
Andrew Zulu, 26, who studied business at NTU, said: “It’s convenient for moving up and down, and saves a lot of walking.
“I think it’s convenient and fun, [you can] relive your inner child and all of that goodness.”
Laura Wheeler, 46, a hypnotherapist of Carlton, emphasised the need for clearer rules around their use.
She added: “I think they’re a really good idea.
“We don’t really use them. We don’t know what the regulations are.
“It needs to be clearer what the rules are.
“Can they go on the pavement? Do they have to wear the helmets that are supplied with them because a lot of people don’t? Where are the pick-up and drop-off points making sure people return them to those, rather then being left here there and everywhere?
“I do think that they’re a really good idea and they’re convenient for people
“They will cut down traffic and environmentally they’re a lot better.
“I think it’s a good idea and the scheme should stay but I think they need to be clearer on what they can and can’t do.”
Councillor Rosemary Healy, city council portfolio holder for highways and transport, said: “The scooter trial has been popular with people of all ages in Nottingham, offering an innovative mode of transport for short trips around the city.
“We have taken on board all feedback – positive and negative – over the course of the past few months to help us shape a final decision about the scheme.
“The Government introduced this pilot in a number of towns and cities across the country and we were keen to take part because it fitted in with our carbon-neutral ambitions around transport, while further enhancing our reputation as a forward-thinking, progressive city.
“The Department for Transport has recently set out a process for areas to extend these trials if they wish to the end of March 2022.
“We are currently considering this and have had discussions with Wind about potential improvements that could be made to the scheme.
“Any extension would be subject to a formal decision which has not yet been taken.”