Source: MicromobilityBiz, A. Ballinger

The review commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) covers the 32 e-scooter rental schemes run across the UK between July 2020 and early 2022.

The report highlights both the positive areas and any areas for concern created by the e-scooter schemes. Of particular interest, the report notes a “progressive increase in mode shift away from private vehicles as trials matured“, with the majority of residents seeing the introduction of the schemes as a positive thing.

A key concern is that surrounding the safety of the relatively new technology, with data indicating e-scooter collisions to be more common than those of either conventional bikes or e-bikes. Further concerns regard the technical elements of the scooters (audibility, viability, and acceleration), as well as the behavior of users in shared pedestrian and road spaces.

The trials have seen shifts in policy throughout their operation, including mandatory identification numbers, and increased campaigning for helmet usage, parking responsibility, and care while riding.

In response to the report, the DfT said: “To maximise the benefits of the e-scooter trials evaluation report, DfT will learn lessons from this evaluation and we look forward to releasing further information on the future policy around e-scooters and similar light electric vehicles.”

To read more on the current state of shared e-scooter rental schemes in the UK, see our recent article “UK shared e-scooter trials reach 30 million total journeys.”