TfL announces June start date for rental e-scooter trial Post Reply

[Community Editor]

A 12-month trial of e-scooter rentals in London will begin in June, TfL has today confirmed.

The boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Richmond upon Thames and Kensington and Chelsea, as well as Canary Wharf and the City of London, will be participating in the trial which begins on June 7.

The trial is part of an attempt to encourage sustainable, active forms of transport and prevent a car-led recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.


A similar trial of rental e-scooters started in Newcastle earlier this year (pictured). Credit: PA

Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, said: “We want to ensure a green, sustainable recovery from coronavirus and e-scooters are an alternative to cars that could help with this.

“The safety of those using e-scooters, as well as other road users and pedestrians, is absolutely paramount, so it’s important that they are trialled in this rigorous way to ensure high standards. We look forward to exploring the role that e-scooters could play in London’s future.”

Operators Lime, TIER and Dott have been selected to take part in the trial and each will set their own rental prices.

Between 60 and 150 e-scooters will be available to rent in each area that is participating in the trial, each of which will have a maximum speed of 12.5 miles per hour as well as several safety features.

E-scooters will be restricted to cycle lanes and roads as it is illegal in the UK to ride them on footpaths.

Londoners will be encouraged to only use rental e-scooter as privately owned e-scooters remain banned on public roads.

[Luvnyrick]

Madness how can anyone suggest these things are safe there being ridden on payments for God sake knocking people flying they are dangerous get real for heaven's sake these things should be banned from being used on pavements if they are to be used in a silly trail let's make sure there in the road then you'll see  how many accidents there'll be 

[juliantenniscoach]

Is that a genuine Met Police poster, given the grammar errors?

[Luvnyrick]

O dear we have a brainbox on here one mistake TRIAL I suppose your one of the e scooter idiots that ride on pavements posh nosh from the northcote road area.been on mastermind have we know it all 

[ronangel]

It might be a good idea to have an automatic camera fitted to the front of each scooter to which the rider has no access if covered will be banned from hiring again. Also, each one must be fitted with a rear-facing number plate and fully insured. It is not well known but the early (maybe still are) hire bikes had a clause written into the hire contract that the first £250 would be debited from your credit card for any accident proven to be your fault bet a lot of mums did not know that ( or still don't) when letting their little angels "no relation")
ride them and when get home say mummy this man it a new Merc with four witnesses says I ran into his car door.
 

[addled]

Technically its not a grammatical error, since there was no grammar used at all.

[Onceuponatime]

Please look up Emily Hartridge. She even used to post on these forums (username EmilyHartridge). Sadly, she was riding her escooter on Queenstown Road when she was hit by a rubbish truck and instantly died. She was only 35.

I know there are dangers on bikes too but these go so much faster. Please be careful.

[boonkoh]

Madness how can anyone suggest these things are safe there being ridden on payments for God sake knocking people flying they are dangerous get real for heaven's sake these things should be banned from being used on pavements if they are to be used in a silly trail let's make sure there in the road then you'll see  how many accidents there'll be 

I love how you're so enraged by e-scooters that you've forgotten to read the original thread post, nor actually taken the time to research what the government proposed!

E-scooters are banned from pavements, they are only allowed to be ridden on cycle lanes and roads...

[boonkoh]

Please look up Emily Hartridge. She even used to post on these forums (username EmilyHartridge). Sadly, she was riding her escooter on Queenstown Road when she was hit by a rubbish truck and instantly died. She was only 35.

I know there are dangers on bikes too but these go so much faster. Please be careful.

They don't got faster than bikes. If you even bothered to read the original thread post or what the government is proposing, they are limited to 12.5mph.

Non electric bikes can go up to 25, 30 mph on city roads. Or even faster. There's no limit on them. I've seen loads of lycra wearing bikers go faster than cars on busy roads.

Electric bikes are speed limited to 25km per hour or 15.5 miles per hour. So faster than e-scooters max speed limit.

[Shaftesburymum]

This trial is great news! E-scooters are not inherently unsafe, the problem has been prioritising the use of public space for people travelling in cars/vans/trucks over people walking, cycling or scootering. At the moment, despite significant improvements in the past year, London still has a patchwork of safe cycle infrastructure. With a safe e-scooter hire service and joined up, segregated cycle lanes, our city will be that bit safer, quieter, less polluted and more enjoyable. A person on an e-scooter is occupying barely any more space than just a person, versus a person in a car typically occupying space that could contain 8-10 people. 

E-scooters are not be permitted on pavements and they are also currently banned from public roads. This new trial limits the use to roads (cycle lanes in effect) and the speed is restricted to 12.5 miles per hour.

Tier is one of the three brand selected for the trial, and they are an exciting innovation partner. You can see just how cool and fun these scooters look, whilst having great safety features, here:
https://www.tier.app/swap/

If you are interested in what a more liveable, people first city might look and feel like I recommend looking here;
https://www.15minutecity.com
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018 ... pontevedra

And if you care about safety and want to reduce the the number of road fatalities in London, you might be interested to know that Helsinki and Oslo have pedestrian deaths down to zero.
“In the last few years, we have also focused on how we build the street environment. Streets are being better divided between pedestrians, cycle lanes and cars – the car lane is not the widest possible.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... hs-to-zero

By the way, the location where Emily Hartridge was killed was on the circus on Queenstown Road, after it was redesigned. The exact place where she was hit was not a protected cycle lane, but a corner that buses, cars and trucks routinely cut over when turning. Although the circus is safer for cyclists than it used to be, this is a (fatal) design flaw. The coroner found that she was travelling too quickly and had an underinflated tyre which caused her to lose control, colliding with a lorry at this unprotected location. A 34 yr old male cyclist was hit by a rubbish truck and killed on the same circus in July 2018, also after the redesign.