E-SCOOTERS

THE plan to bring e-scooters to Rochdale will be discussed at next week’s Rochdale Borough Council Cabinet meeting, which will be held on February 9.

Rochdale was one of the successful applicants to the government to operate a pilot e-scooter scheme for 12 months.

The council is now looking to appoint a supplier.

The year-long trial is set to begin on March 31, 2021.

Council documents revealed the trial will be focused around Rochdale Railway Station, the town centre and other ‘key amenities’ around the town.

If successful, a six-month extension until September 31, 2022, could be implemented to allow the council to ‘undertake a further procurement process to award a boroughwide, long-term contract for an e-scooter scheme to be rolled out on a phased basis across the borough’.

The council has been working with Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM), on the details of the trial, procurement documents and procedure – and has made provision of up to £20,000 to prepare and implement any Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders to allow the trial to be implemented.

The trial hopes to ease pressure on public transport, reduce short drives by car, and provide an alternative travel option in areas where other transport services are difficult to access and for commuter journeys outside usual public transport operation hours.

Bolt is one company hoping to bring the scheme to the town.

Its proposition would have scooters available to users for 20p a minute for the first 10 minutes, then 12p a minute after that.

The cost for a journey of any distance would be capped at £6, but there would be opportunities to hire the e-scooters for a longer period of time.