E-scooters explored for Wales as trial opens but there's a catch
Cardiff and Swansea are among the areas that have expressed an interest
A new window has opened for councils to apply for e-scooter trials (stock image)
(Image: Mike Kemp)
Officials are "exploring" whether electric scooters can be brought to Wales. E-scooters are illegal on public roads in the UK except in areas where there is a trial. Rental schemes have been taking place in parts of England since 2020 but there has yet to be a trial anywhere in Wales. Last year WalesOnline revealed Cardiff and Swansea councils had formally expressed an interest in launching trials. Now, for the first time in years, the UK's Department for Transport has opened a window for councils to apply for trials in new areas — yet there is a catch for those in Wales.
The Welsh Government's transport s ecretary Ken Skates told us: 'We would consider any Welsh local authority interest to pursue participation in a trial of public rental electric scooters. Before any trial could commence a change in road legislation would need to be made.' When we contacted Swansea council, its spokesman suggested any e-scooter plans are on the backburner until the Welsh Government makes a tweak to legislation. "I'm told the reopened applications for trials are in England, not Wales," he said.
Cardiff council, meanwhile, is planning to launch an electric bike hire scheme across the city in early 2026. But its spokesman told us it could add e-scooters to the offering pending "legal changes being made to allow them to be used on public land in Wales".
The UK Government told us its transport department is "engaging with our Welsh counterparts to explore whether it will be possible to open e-scooter trials in Wales, as they would need to pass some legislation to enable this".
Any councils interested should engage with the Welsh Government in the first instance, the UK Government added.
Harry Foskin, from the UK's biggest e-scooter operator Voi, said a mix of e-scooters and e-bikes would be an "affordable, easy and safe addition" to transport options in Wales, adding: "They're good for health, come without any carbon or air pollution, and don't add traffic to the roads.
"In the Valleys, for instance, shared e-bikes and e-scooters could help people reach stations along the South Wales Metro as part of an integrated transport system.
"In city and town centres they can help people hop about to work, to appointments, to shops when the car is impractical and the next bus might be too far away."
He called on the Welsh and UK Governments to "work collaboratively" with councils to "unlock the full potential" of e-scooters in Wales.
Last month the UK Government extended e-scooter trials until 2028. Voi said the latest trial period 'had to be the last' before a permanent legalisation, as uncertainty was damaging investment.
The UK Government has been widely criticised for repeatedly extending the trials without making a final decision on whether e-scooters will be made fully legal, or only available in hire schemes, or any other option.
Supporters of e-scooters say they are a low-emission, fun and relatively cheap mode of transport. But the illegal use of privately owned e-scooters has been common for years in Wales, without the guardrails of regulation.
While scooters used in the English trials are limited to 15.5mph, private ones often have higher speed limits, no lighting, and have been known to explode due to mishandled batteries.
One of the criticisms of e-scooters — even those used in the trials — has been illegal pavement riding. Guide Dogs Cymru's Andrea Gordon, who has been blind all her life, previously told us that nearly three quarters of people with sight loss who have encountered an e-scooter have had a negative experience.
Voi said it has worked "very closely" with charities for blind people and has integrated their suggestions into how it educates riders. Last year its e-scooters' accident rates dropped by 70%, to the same level as the company's e-bikes, it said.
At the time of writing there are rental e-scooter trials in 18 regions of England. A report by the Department for Transport found there had been "concerns about the behaviour" of some riders and that pavement riding has caused "particular concern" among visually impaired people.
But it also pointed to the green transport option increasingly being used for "purposeful journeys". And riders in trial areas had over time shifted away from more dangerous illegal scooters.
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