E-scooter trials will be brought forward from next year to next month as the UK government seeks ways to reduce the burden on public transport networks unable to operate at full capacity due to social distancing rules.
Originally set to take place in four ‘future transport zones’, trials of rental e-scooters will now be offered to all local areas across the country.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the move will allow the government to “assess the benefits of e-scooters as well as their impact on public spaces”, with the potential to see rental vehicles on UK roads as early as June.
Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, said: “This trial will help bring more flexibility, choice, and greener travel solutions for the region, at a time when we are facing a climate emergency and urging people to leave the car at home.
“We will also use the trial to look at the current transport challenges the coronavirus pandemic has presented us with and explore how e-scooters could be used to help tackle them.”
Paul Hodgins, CEO of British micro e-mobility company Ginger, also welcomed the government’s decision to expedite the start of the trials.
“It is great to see these new forms of transport being put to use to provide real benefit, not just being a novelty in city centres, helping to give people more clean, efficient transport options that enable them to keep safe,” said Hodgins.
The closing date for written evidence is 2 June, 2020.
The announcement formed part of Shapps’ Covid-19 briefing, where he also revealed a series of measures designed to encourage the uptake of more sustainable forms of transport.
These include a £250m emergency active travel fund as part of a £2bn investment in walking and cycling, and a £10m funding boost for the government’s on-street residential EV charge point scheme.
Want to read more stories like this?
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/e-scooters-the-impact-their-legalisation-would-have-in-the-uk/
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/uk-government-announces-emergency-active-travel-fund/
