Forum Topic

E scooters

I see today in Paris they are having a referendum on the continued use of self service e scooters. When will we have one?

Nicholas Beard ● 1266d15 Comments

Are users better behaved in Paris?  Are they better monitoredvand maintained in Paris?Some Councils here are cracking down on poorly parked e-bikes - the problem is that it is difficult to tell how much is serious users of the schemes and how much is simply abusers.  Has it been learnt which areas would benefit from docking bikes and will there now be some more funding - whether sponsored or not for this?

Philippa Bond ● 1266d

Hire e scooters will be banned in Paris.

Nicholas Beard ● 1266d

I encountered for the first time a 'clacking' Lime bike which I understand has been hacked last week.  The young rider overtook and crossed in front of a car at a junction with a main road!

Philippa Bond ● 1265d

90% majority for banning e-scooters in Paris. I wish we'd hold a referendum on the issue in London. Mind you, as we learned from CS9 the local community can oppose a policy as much as they like but Hounslow Council will go ahead with it anyway. Question: why is a shop selling e-scooters opening in the old Sofa Warehouse premises when it's illegal to ride privately owned scooters anywhere other than on private land?

Stephen Edwards ● 1265d

"Question: why is a shop selling e-scooters opening in the old Sofa Warehouse premises when it's illegal to ride privately owned scooters anywhere other than on private land?"Because they don't sell e-scooters.www.fullycharged.com

Michael Robinson ● 1265d

I'd be more than glad to see the back of those bloody Lime bikes and scooters - absolute pain the a*se.

Vanessa Smith ● 1265d

E Scooters can have a role, but it should be limited.  If you need to get the last mile from a station to your office, they make sense as they are portable and you could potentially carry one on your train.  The problem is the battery fire issue means that they have already been banned from TFL, and I suspect they will end up getting banned on other trains.Apart from battery fires, the big problem is the small wheels. The small wheels make them susceptible to pot holes.  I think I read that 3 times as likely to get injured on a E Scooter as you are on a bike.  The bigger wheels on a bike handle potholes far better.Legislation needs to be passed to limit speeds on E Scooters to 10mph, and for them to have a minimum wheel size of at least 150mm (6"), and ideally 200mm.  E Scooters that break these rules should be confiscated by the police and not given back.I would allow E Scooters, but I wouldn't promote them.  Hire schemes should be bikes (electric or conventional) not E Scooters.  The only real reason for using an E Scooter over a bike is the portability in terms of taking it on other transport, or into your office building, but that's not an issue with a hire scheme.

Al Webber ● 1265d

Private eScooters are already legal in France. I guess now would be a good time to invest in an eScooter shop in Paris.

Paul Campbell ● 1265d

Fullycharged are a world away from dodgy scooter sellers They have a mid to high end e-bike retailer. I doubt some 150 pounds scooter would even be allowed to park outside the shop😉

N V Brooks ● 1265d

'E Scooters that break these rules should be confiscated by the police..'What police? At least Wandsworth Council is still scooping up and impounding any rental bikes it finds 'abandoned' on its streets.

Peter Evans ● 1265d

I am often down Hammersmith  way and I rarely see one of the rental scooters being riden. Mostly they are in a pile opposite Ravenscourt  Park. It would surprise me that the few that do ride them are using them rather than driving a car. My impression is  most don't own one so they are probably not doing much to reduce traffic.Finally, I can't thing the providers are making any money,even running at a loss.My guess is it won't be long before they go the same way as Mobikes.

Adrian Irving ● 1265d

They don't all have very small wheels.  Very small wheels probably also make them more susceptible to damage as well as you - a bigger problem when it has a lithium ion battery...https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/e-scooters-and-e-bikes/#You may not be able to take one on a plane as well as on the tube which is such a shame when it would seem to be an ideal way to finish your trip.

Philippa Bond ● 1265d

They all have much smaller wheels than a bike.  That's one of the reasons they are more accident prone.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DCiATL-kbcEven the "big" wheel there is much smaller than most bikes.

Al Webber ● 1265d

new one for me - can someone bring me up to date please?

Davey Harris ● 1264d

Michael, thanks for putting me right on Fully Charged. Personally, I think that the use of e-bikes, like e-scooters, should be illegal other than on private land. I have a hunch that were there to be a referendum in London as in Paris there would be a big majority for both to be banned. All academic because we don't do referenda and the Met don't enforce the law anyway. Tant pis.................

Stephen Edwards ● 1264d