E-scooter operator Neuron Mobility and Sunderland City Council have announced that e-scooters will be available to ride across more areas in the city from today [Thursday 07 April], with the trial area trebling in size.
The extended trial zone will now cover a further 6.2km2 of riding area, and comes 12 months after the micromobility mode was introduced in the city.
The new riding area enables residents to travel from Sunderland City Centre to surrounding areas into Pallion, Hendon and Ashbrooke. It will also provide access to popular destinations including the Stadium of Light and Sunderland Riverside.
Neuron said its e-scooters will now better serve a variety of groups including medical professionals employed at the Royal Hospital and those living in student accommodation in the city. The new riding area will also cover many local businesses, adding an additional convenient and sustainable travel option for the city’s residents.
In the past year, the e-scooters have racked up 110,000 miles with around a third of trips replacing a car journey. This has resulted in the elimination of around 10 tonnes of CO2 which supports the council’s sustainability goals.
Additionally, the e-scooters are also helping boost the local economy with 65% of all rides in Sunderland having resulted in a purchase at a local business, Neuron reported.
As the trial reaches new areas, Neuron and the council will continue to use geofencing technology to control where the e-scooters can and can’t be ridden and parked, and how fast they can travel in certain areas by creating slow-zones, no-ride zones and no-parking zones.
Mark Jackson, Sunderland City Council’s assistant director of infrastructure, planning and transportation, said: “Sunderland’s e-scooter trial has become an important part of how residents can travel around our city. It is great that so many people have taken the opportunity to use Neuron’s e-scooters over the past twelve months.
“The e-scooters are about providing a convenient way to make short journeys, helping reduce congestion and improve air quality. We have our ongoing partnership work with Neuron and we look forward to seeing the benefits of e-scooters continuing to be felt and recognised by residents and businesses across the city.”
The new riding area will include 28 additional parking stations which will be highlighted in the app and also marked on the ground for visibility. In order to help riders use the e-scooters safely and responsibly, Neuron’s Safety Ambassadors will be out in greater numbers in the new areas to ensure riders are aware of the safe riding rules. These include no riding on pavements, no riding under the influence of alcohol or other substances and the recommended use of the provided safety helmets when riding.
