City puts brakes on e-scooter trial after woman, 80, injured

E-SCOOTERS are to be banned on the streets of Canterbury after an 80-yearold woman was hit by a rider and suffered significant injuries.

A pilot scheme where residents of the Kent city could hire motorised scooters began in November 2020 and was due to reach the end of its term in November.

A proposal from the Department for Transport to extend the trial until 2024 has been rejected by Kent county council, with the scheme to be terminated by Dec 1 and no scooters therefore are allowed on the city’s roads.

Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads nationwide. Other pilot e-scooter rental schemes will end in May 2024 and data from these will determine whether the use of e-scooters on public highways is approved.

David Brazier, the council’s cabinet member for transport, described Bird, the company running the trial on behalf of the council, as “competent and professional” but said you “cannot legislate” for people breaking the rules when they hire the vehicles.

A Bird spokesman said it was “clearly very disappointed with this decision”.