Your verdict on e-scooter trial
People in Sunderland city centre have been experiencing their first ride on Wearside’s new e-scooters as a 12-month trial launches.
The year-long trial, which launched yesterday will see a partnership between Sunderland City Council and Neuron Mobility, the developer of the electric scooters, as an environmentally friendly way to travel across the city.
The trial will see 300 distinctive orange e-scooters deployed across the city for members of the public to use, only requiring a mobile app to unlock and access them.
During a launch event in Keel Square, people were invited to come and try out the scooters for the first time.
Roberta Dambrauskaite from Ashbrooke believes that it will be a great way to travel from the city centre to the seafront as we enter the summer months.
The 26-year-old marketing manager said: “It was absolutely brilliant, I think it’s really fun and it’s a different way to get around the city centre, especially now when the weather is nice.
"It makes it easier to go from the city centre to the seafront and back and I think it is a nice edition with it being good for the environment.”
It costs just £1 to unlock the scooters and then 20p for every minute after, with students receiving a discount, something which appealed to biomedical student Katarina Pajerksa.
The 20-year-old commented: “I think it is so much better than buses or cars for the environment and as we are students, we can’t afford to travel by Metro or buses all the time.”
University of Sunderland business student Bei Gao, 23, added: “It was really good, really interesting and new, when the university reopens we can use it for a daily ride, it’s really convenient.”
Social media assistants James Usher, 20, and Leia Wilkinson, 21, were out on their lunch breaks when they got involved in the trial.
James from Barnes believes that the e-scooters could become a part of his daily commute to and from work, saying: “It was a smooth ride, I’m definitely going to use them every day when I’m going to work.”
Leia from Houghton added: “It was really good and fun, I actually really enjoyed it. I’d 100% do it again, I feel like so many people will use it and it will be a race to get to the scooters first.”
The chief executive of Sunderland BID (Business Improvement District), Sharon Appleby, was among those taking part in today’s trial and she spoke of her surprise at the speed of the scooters.
The 51-year-old commented: “It was really good, really interesting, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect as it was going a little faster than what I was thinking it would at first but it was good.
"I could feel myself holding on quite tightly and trying to think about it all at the same time but it was brilliant, it is so nice to see them coming to Sunderland.”
Anyone aged 18 and over who hold a full or provisional driving licence can book and use the e-scooters through the ‘Neuron – Escooter Sharing’ app which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.