Scooters And One Wheels

Electrical scooter take a look at on North Lambeth. expanded

Georgia Yexley from TIER Mobility e-scooter company, Hackney’s Mayor Philip Glanville from London Councils, Helen Sharp from TfL and Duncan Robertson from Dott e-scooter company

Electric scooters are legal to rent in the northern parts of Lambeth starting today (July 5th).

They will also be available in the City of London. Southwark will join the existing trial in five London boroughs as a ride-through district.

The use of privately owned e-scooters on public roads is not covered by the study and remains illegal in the UK, as is driving e-scooters on footpaths.

The Metropolitan Police will continue to enforce laws governing the use of privately owned e-scooters.

Since June 7th, a test with rental e-scooters in five districts – Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond, Tower Hamlets – and Canary Wharf has been running in London.

Rental e-scooters are provided by three operators: Dott, Lime and TIER Mobilty.

The number of e-scooters that can be rented across London will increase from around 600 to 1,200 when the new areas are added

It will still be possible to park e-scooters only in designated parking spaces, which is enforced by GPS technology, said Transport for London (TfL).

Following the government’s decision to legalize e-scooter rental last month, TfL and London Councils launched an e-scooter rental test in the capital.

TfL and London Councils are in talks with the boroughs about further expansions.

TfL said security remains a top priority and that it and the London Councils would continue to monitor the trial in the new areas.

Will Norman, London’s Commissioner for Pedestrians and Cyclists, said expanding the test “will allow us to better understand the role of e-scooters in moving car trips to greener and more sustainable alternatives”.

He said safety remains at the heart of the TfL study as safety standards are stricter in the new region of London as well.

Helen Sharp, TfL e-scooter investigator said: “We have worked closely with the City of London, Lambeth and Southwark to ensure this extension of the experiment works for everyone in the area.

“London’s Safety First Test of e-scooters is already providing important data on the long-term role they could play in a greener and healthier future for the capital, and this expansion will further help shape UK and London politics in the region to design.”

Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney and chairman of the London Council’s Transport and Environment Committee, said the process was designed by the boroughs and aimed to serve the diverse local communities of London by addressing the travel needs of all Londoners, especially those with lower income.

“Rental e-scooters have a number of safety functions such as permanent light, GPS-controlled parking and restricted zones – that is, they can only be parked in certain places that do not obstruct the pavement and are not allowed to be taken in certain areas, e.g. Tunnel – and a unique identification number for each vehicle, ”said Glanville.

The safety standards required in London go beyond those at the national level by requiring the following:

  • Users over 18
  • A lower top speed of 12.5 mph compared to the nationally set 25.5 mph
  • Lights at the front and rear of the vehicles, which are always switched on
  • Larger wheels, at least 12 inches in diameter, which means they can more easily navigate road surfaces
  • Vehicles should stop safely in a “no go” area and safely reduce their speed to 8 mph in “go slow” areas

Operators also have additional safety mechanisms in place, including “first-time drive” policies, which means that drivers must take an e-learning safety course prior to their first rental and set lower speed limits on their first journey.

TfL, London Councils and the operators have also launched a campaign to promote the importance of safety during the trial.

According to TfL, London Councils and participating districts have been and will continue to be concerned with people with accessibility throughout the development of the process, including TfL’s Independent Disability Advisory Group.

“This includes proactively working with the blind and visually impaired community and encouraging each operator to work with the community to find a suitable tone for e-scooters to make people aware of their presence on the road,” said TfL .

The data shared by the operators will help shape future government policy on e-scooters and include anonymized trip details, safety and accident reports, and environmental and sustainability metrics

TfL has installed a data exchange platform for micromobility, which enables data exchange in both directions with the operators and helps with the daily administration of the experiment.

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