Fun and green solution to short journeys
Despite a growing number of injuries and even some deaths, North Staffordshire has become one of the latest area to trial new e-scooters. Joe Burn took one for a test drive in Newcastle
NEW e-scooters have arrived in Newcastle – and we’ve been out to test drive one. A fleet of 150 e-scooters has been available to rent in Newcastle and Stafford for around two weeks now.
It’s part of a 12-month governmentbacked scheme that urges motorists to ditch their cars and take part in the launch of the ‘micromobility’ trial in the two Staffordshire towns.
Staffordshire County Council and its highways contractor Amey have teamed up with electric scooter providers Zwings and Ginger to launch the trials.
Council chiefs hope the scheme will help cut congestion and emissions resulting from short car journeys, particularly as more people return to the workplace following lockdown.
The Newcastle trial, run by Zwings, will cover an area including the town centre, Keele University and Silverdale.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE TOOK A SCOOTER OUT FOR A SPIN
After pulling up the Zwings app in Newcastle town centre and scanning the QR code on on the scooter’s handlebars, I was prompted to upload a photo of my driving licence and take a selfie – so far, so good.
After bashing in some card details and topping up a fiver – I was off, only to be screamed at by the bleeping scooter as I approached the red no-go-zone of the main drag in Newcastle town.
The app shows you where you can’t ride on its handy map. For obvious health and safety reasons, you can’t go whizzing around hordes of shoppers. If you try, the motor cuts
out and you’re left with a weighty scooter to manually shuffle around.
From outside the Arnold Machin pub, there was really only one way to travel with the scooter that didn’t hit the red zone – straight over the roundabout. Which if you’re new to scooting on the roads, can feel a little daring.
It is quite quick, but probably could be quicker for the roads. I found its manoeuvrability decent enough and the scooter itself is sturdy enough to handle cracked roads.
In theory, you could take the scooter from Keele University into town and back. Bar this, I can’t really see a target market for the scooters
that isn’t young people. Unless you just want to nip home and there isn’t a bus.
They are fun, however, and definitely provide something to do for young people in the town.
But you have to be 16 and hold a provisional licence to ride one. It’s also not that cheap – if you’re going to be using one for over 30 minutes that’ll be at least £6, as I found out after riding around for a while.
The scooter will also slow itself down if you head down a hill, which I found to be a bit of a bore. The annoying screech as you approach a red zone could probably be dumped too.
I’ve ridden e-scooters in other parts of the world that slow down in busy areas, and none of them scream obnoxiously at you.
All in all, they appear to be a fun and green solution to short journey travel for able-bodied people.
Parking the scooter requires you to end the journey on the app and take a photo of it in place. So don’t forget to do that or you’ll continue to be charged.
I think if the green area of use could be expanded into Stoke-on-trent, the scooters could have a larger effect on cutting emissions and be of more use to local people. But they are definitely fun.