Following much speculation, an e-scooter trial has finally been confirmed for London in the spring of 2021.
Transport for London (TfL) announced the micromobility pilot scheme as it launched a tender competition to select up to three operators for the UK capital city’s trial.
TfL, London Councils and London’s boroughs will now work together to create a plan for a 12-month scheme that’s designed to lead to a better understanding of the impact of the new transport mode on London’s roads.
According to TfL, the competition is open to all e-scooter operators, all of whom will be assessed on their ability to meet strict safety requirements and operating standards.
Operators will also be required to provide data for TfL and all 33 London boroughs that showcase the impact of e-scooters on London’s zero-emission targets and mayor Sadiq Khan’s Healthy Streets approach.
German micromobility company Tier Mobility welcomed the news of the London tender and said it planned to apply. “Today’s announcement is exciting, we believe it can bring huge benefits to the city,” said Tier’s UK general manager Fred Jones.
“The environmental impact of switching from cars to e-scooters for short journeys is staggering,” Jones continued. “Our research has found that e-scooters could replace 1.2 million car trips in the capital every single day, resulting in a 233-tonne reduction in daily CO2 emissions.”
Spanish micromobility company Wind Mobility also announced that it will enter the competition. “Today is an historic day for London, once again leading the way in technology and innovation as it embarks on a new journey to revolutionise transportation,” a Wind spokesperson said.
“The Wind team is excited to get a chance to work with London, and our local team is already working hard on delivering a world-class service to the UK capital.”
Swedish e-scooter operator, Voi Technology, which currently operates trial schemes in Liverpool, Birmingham, Northampton, Cambridge, Bath and Bristol, said it will also throw its hat into the ring.
According to TfL, the e-scooter trial is part of a wider goal to enable Londoners to use greener forms of transport and to help avoid a car-led recovery from coronavirus, which it believes could make air quality worse and increase congestion.
Michael Hurwitz, TfL’s director of transport innovation, said: ”We’re determined to make sure that London recovers from coronavirus as safely and sustainably as possible and are supportive of innovative solutions that could help.
“Safety will be our number one priority during this e-scooter rental trial, which will be critical to providing us the data and insights we need to determine whether e-scooters are a viable part of a greener and healthier future for London. We’ll continue to take the interests of all Londoners into account as we work towards starting the trial next year.”
Whilst the total number of e-scooters to be deployed as part of the trial has not yet been determined, TfL said it expected to start with between 60 and 150 vehicles per participating borough. Around one-third of London’s 33 boroughs have reportedly expressed an intention to join the trial initially, with more to consider joining at a later stage.
A participating borough will control the parking location for its batch of e-scooters to protect against street clutter and can designate ‘no-go’ areas or ‘slow-go’ zones where the speed will be limited to 8mph through geofencing technology.
Furthermore, riding on pavements will be banned as will the use of private e-scooters. TfL said the London Metropolitan Police will engage with riders where necessary and enforce legislation.
