Walking and micromobility
Micromobility refers to a range of lightweight, usually single-person vehicles, with speeds below 15mph – such as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EPAC) and electric scooters.
Micromobility also includes pedal cycles; you can read more about our policy on cycling here. Micromobility has become part and parcel of the way people travel around our towns and cities. In 2023, the UK e-scooter sharing market became the fifth largest in the world with a revenue of €62.35 million.
EPACs are better known as e-bikes and are legal on public roads when they:
- are fitted with pedals
- have an electric motor with a maximum power of 250 watts
- cut off power when they reach 15.5 miles per hour (mph)
Anything not meeting these standards is classed as a moped or motorcycle and must be registered, insured and taxed.
Photo by Sonia Medina licensed under CC BY 3.0
WHAT WE SAY
At Living Streets, we support micromobility as a cleaner and greener way to get around, helping to reduce the number of short trips by car and increase access to public transport. However, we don’t want the rise in micromobility modes to come at the expense of pedestrians.
Rented e-bikes and e-scooters can cause an obstruction if they are dumped on our pavements, and the speed and quietness of e-scooters and e-bikes can be dangerous when used on pavements.
With hundreds of e-bike and e-scooter rental schemes operating across the UK, it’s time this situation was brought under control. That’s why Living Streets has supported London councils in asking the Government to give powers to strategic transport authorities so that they can regulate micromobility markets and develop micromobility schemes for their areas in partnership with local authorities through the English Devolution Bill.
Rented and privately owned e-bikes are legal on public roads. However, the situation with e-scooters is more complicated and is explained below.
WHAT ARE THE CURRENT E-SCOOTER RULES?
On 4 July 2020 it became legal to ride rental e-scooters on Britain’s roads. This change applies to rental schemes, but the use of privately owned e-scooters is still illegal.
Under the rules set out by the Department for Transport, local authorities and devolved administrations in England, Scotland and Wales have run e-scooter sharing pilot schemes. More than 50 trials have taken place across 22 regions in England. Originally scheduled to last 12 months, trial schemes have been extended four times and will now run until May 2026. Cardiff and Swansea councils have expressed their interest in running e-scooter trials (November 2024) – to date, there have been no trials in Wales or Scotland.
Users must hold a provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence, and must be at least 16 years old. The speed limit of rental e-scooters is set at 15.5mph (25km/h) and the scooters are banned from being used on pavements.
What's the problem?
Living Streets believes that under no circumstances should e-scooters or e-scooter/bike parking take up pedestrian space.
We have supported councils in London who say that strategic transport authorities should have the power to regulate the micromobility market – in relation to e-bikes littering pavements – but we believe that this should apply equally to e-scooters.
The illegal use of trial e-scooters extends beyond their use on pavements. and can be dangerous, especially for riders. In 2023 in Great Britain, there were:
- 1,292 collisions
- 1,387 casualties, 416 serious, of these 1,117 were riders
- Six riders killed
We need on-street enforcement and want action from Government on this issue.
We estimate that there are almost a million illegal privately owned e-scooters already being used on public roads across the UK. This cannot be undone but the government must now legislate for the construction and use of e-scooters – including enforcement against their use on pavements. In late 2024, the then Transport Secretary Louise Haigh acknowledged that introducing regulations for electric scooters was "clearly necessary”.
This was followed by the introduction of a Bill by Jessica Morden MP who pressed the Government to improve public awareness around the dangers of e-scooters. The Bill will receive its second reading in March 2025.
Rental scheme operators have had the design of their e-scooters approved by the Department for Transport and they know who is using their e-scooters and where – and can use smart technology to prevent them from mounting pavements. Rental e-scooter users are also insured. The trials will go some way to show how, well-managed, rental schemes could be part of the mix for everyday low carbon transport.
In contrast, it’s likely that a person on a privately owned e-scooter will be using a more dangerous vehicle (e.g. battery fires and much higher speeds) and will not be insured, registered or (outside large urban areas) face any consequences for illegally using it on roads or pavements.
Infrastructure
E-scooters are more difficult to handle than bicycles. They have smaller wheels, the footplates are closer to the ground and if you meet a pothole, you are much more likely to come off than if you are cycling.
The poor state of our roads combined with high levels of traffic mean that we don't have the right infrastructure currently in place to support e-scooters. This could lead to people scooting on the pavement because they are scared to use the road.
RNIB and the Bicycle Association agree that the current cycling infrastructure is not up to the job and cycling groups have additional concerns around the technical specification of e-scooters and penalty structure in particular.
Obstructions
Extra space for walking, cycling and scooting is required for the safe use of e-scooters.
To discourage people from discarding e-scooters on pavements and footways, parking options are essential.
Placing scooter parking in the carriageway would also avoid taking space away from people who are walking or wheeling.
Dockless rental schemes cause obstructions when they are placed on the footway and don't work for pedestrians.
Power and speed
The speed and acceleration of e-scooters and the fact that they are very quiet will cause alarm and potential danger to more vulnerable pedestrians, including children, those with mobility issues and those living with sight loss.
The Department for Transport’s national evaluation of e-scooter trials surveyed respondents who reported that they had been in a collision involving an e-scooter. They were asked what they thought had contributed to it.
The results showed that in:
- 35% of cases respondents believed that it was caused by dangerous or reckless e-scooter riding;
- 34% of cases respondents believed that it was caused by weather conditions;
- 32% of cases respondents believed that it was caused by the condition of the street;
- 22% of cases respondents believed that other road users were to blame.
The implications when e-scooters are ridden in poor weather conditions, on busy roads or by inexperienced users does not bear thinking about.
Video
Watch Dr Rachel Lee, Policy and Research Manager at Living Streets, give evidence on e-scooters to the Transport Select Committee on Parliament.tv