New e-scooters switch off on pavements after one second

E-SCOOTERS could be programmed to switch off one second after riders mount the pavement, a firm bidding for a new contract to operate a rental scheme in the UK has said.

New e-scooters will use sensors to cut off power if they enter a “prohibited zone” such as footpaths or shopping centres.

The technology, which has been approved for Britain, will disable the scooter within a second of entering a prohibited space, The Times reported.

Link, an American e-scooter company, plans to introduce the system in Britain beginning with a scheme in London and another in Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

It comes following the suspension of a year-long trial of electric scooters last month because riders repeatedly mounted pavements.

The Government legalised e-scooters in July as part of emergency measures to give people more transport options during the coronavirus pandemic, when public transport networks were running at reduced capacity.

The scooters are limited to 15.5mph and can be used only on 30mph roads and in bike lanes, but there have been a number of violations of these terms of use. They are prohibited on pavements and other pedestrianised areas and must be hired from licensed companies to ensure they meet design standards.

Last week, MPS on the Commons transport committee said that tougher enforcement was needed to prevent a “serious hazard” for pedestrians.

The one-second shutdown is a vast improvement on current rates.

E-scooters are currently fitted with global positioning system (GPS) technology to track their location and to create “geofencing” that prevents riders from entering unauthorised zones.

But it has been claimed that it can take up to 30 seconds to send GPS data to a central “cloud” system, compute the location and send a command to the scooter.