News
11/03/2022

Urban Transport Group publishes report on future of e-scooters

The Urban Transport Group has published a report on local regulatory frameworks and the future of e-scooters. The report calls for a new national framework to give local transport authorities new jurisdictions over micromobility rental services.

E-scooters are legal to buy and sell, yet their use on public roads, cycleways, and pavements remains illegal (but increasingly common) in England. Their illegal use raises substantial safety concerns given the massive variation in quality and safety specifications currently available for people to buy, leading to several doubts and uncertainty about their future development in English cities.

As such, the Urban Transport Group has released a report, "The future of e-scooters: What powers do cities need and what standards should be set?", addressing this concern.

The Urban Transport Group is the network of city region transport authorities in the United Kingdom, representing transport bodies, including POLIS members Greater Manchester (Transport for Greater Manchester) and London (Transport for London)- both of whom have actively engaged in the topic of micromobility across POLIS' working groups.

Their report includes principles to consider in any regulatory reforms around micromobility, as well as detailed recommendations for both the rental and ownership markets should the government legalise the use of e-scooters following the currently ongoing trials. It also presents wide-ranging risks if the report's recommendations are not implemented. 

Some of the key messages of this report include:

  • Local areas need to be responsible for regulating the micromobility rental market.
  • Strategic transport authorities need access to data from micromobility services to plan transport networks and manage them in real-time.
  • These authorities can also take a holistic view to safeguard broader goals for people and place and ensure a coherent transport offer across a wide geographical area.
  • The Department for Transport (DfT) should set robust standards for the construction and use of e-scooters while retaining a degree of flexibility to accommodate future models and vehicle types.

 

Read more about this report on the official Urban Transport Group page here.