Green light for thousands more e-scooters on England's streets
Under updated guidance from the Department for Transport (DfT), new local authorities can apply to have e-scooters run by companies such as Lime, Voi or Dott in their area. It is the first time since the pandemic that new areas have been able to apply for e-scooters.
Many are expected to do so and industry figures are in discussions with at least 12 councils, including big cities such as Manchester, Brighton, Leeds and Sheffield.
At present there are 18 areas across England that operate e-scooter rental schemes on a trial basis, including London, Newcastle and Birmingham, but the scheme has been frozen for new applicants until now.
It has proven controversial in some areas. Critics say rental e-scooters and e-bikes litter pavements and are dangerous for users and pedestrians.
In July Dame Joan Collins, the actress, said there had been an 'invasion' of e-bikes and e-scooters in London, which was destroying the capital.
The rental schemes have certain universal rules, such as a cap on speeds and scooter safety standards, but it is up to individual local authorities to decide regulations on parking or specific areas where users can ride.
The changes by the DfT extend the e-scooter rental trial period to at least 2028 while the government gathers evidence on how best to regulate them. Any new area applying to be part of the trial must bring in a 'new feature', such as offering helmets to users or variable speed limits.
A senior boss at Voi, the UK's largest rental company, said in June that a transport 'revolution' was coming to the UK, although it may 'hurt a little'. The company aims to have a fleet of 50,000 extra e-bikes and e-scooters on the streets within five years.
Christina Moe Gjerde, vice-president for northern Europe at Voi, said the extension could allow the company to double the size of its UK business. 'E-scooters have already proven to be safe, sustainable and affordable, and legislation is needed so they can be here long into the future,' she said.
'We have seen some of the highest utilised schemes in Europe in the UK but growth is falling behind what we are seeing in other markets and part of this is the regulation not allowing for schemes to further grow.'
Lime hailed the extension of the e-scooter trial as 'great news'.
At present only e-scooters rented through official trials are legal on UK roads but retailers have been selling private devices for years and their popularity has exploded since the pandemic. Police have been accused of largely turning a blind eye to their use.
However, in recent years some police forces have stepped up efforts to tackle the problem of e-scooters being used illegally. Since the City of London launched its cycle response unit in 2023, the team have seized and destroyed almost 600 e-bikes and e-scooters, up until June.
• What are the police doing about dangerous e-scooter riders?
Ministers are said to be acutely aware of the need to find a permanent solution to rules around e-scooters and to bring to an end the patchwork of trials.
Transport ministers would like to put forward a bill in the next King's speech to update the law to reflect new modes of transport. It could include changing the way private rental companies are regulated and also make private e-scooters legal for the first time.
Under planned laws that would enable private devices to be legalised, riders could be forced to display licence plates and take out insurance. It is believed that such measures would help police clamp down on antisocial behaviour linked to the scooters.
The DfT said: 'Safety is at the heart of all e-scooter trials and riding a privately owned e-scooter on public land remains illegal. We are extending trials to deepen our understanding of e-scooter safety as we move towards legislating around their use, to better crack down on nuisance and antisocial use.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Deliveroo swings to a loss as takeover looms - but takeaway orders surge
Deliveroo sank to a loss in the first half as its looming takeover by US rival DoorDash weighed, but orders and sales surged as households ordered more takeaways. The company's gross transaction value, an industry metric including delivery costs for the total value of transactions on platforms, came in at £3.8billion for the first six months of the year. Globally, the total number of orders reached 147million by the end of the period, which is 8 per cent higher than a year ago. Average order frequency rose across all the group's geographical markets year-on-year, with customers often returning to use the food delivery platform multiple times in the period. Revenue grew 8 per cent to £1billion, but the group still swung to a loss in the period as it edged closer to its planned takeover by US rival DoorDash. Flagging costs relating to the costs, the company unveiled a half-year loss of £19.2million for the period, against a £1.3million profit a year ago. The company attributed its loss predominantly to 'advisory and legal fees in relation to the DoorDash acquisition', without which it would have made a net profit. Its adjusted EBITDA jumped 46 per cent to £96million in the period. Deliveroo agreed to be bought by the rival US delivery firm in May in a deal worth around £2.9 billion. The Silicon Valley-based group, which is the largest food delivery platform in the US, said it would pay 180p per share in cash for Deliveroo. DoorDash said the takeover would expand its geographic presence to nine new markets, including Britain, meaning it will have operations in over 40 countries. Will Shu, founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, said: 'The first half of this year was very positive. 'Our long term focus on improving the CVP is paying off. Consumer engagement is encouraging, with order frequency and retention continuing to improve across all cohorts. 'Today, both growth and profitability are accelerating. We are delivering on our mission to change the way people shop and eat and to bring the neighbourhood to people's doors. I'm proud of where we are and all that we have achieved. We helped to build an entire sector and have redefined it multiple times over.' He added: 'I'm excited for what the partnership with Doordash can bring in the future. They will be an excellent partner for everyone at the company, as well as for our consumers, merchant partners and riders.' The London-listed company, which in May agreed the takeover by DoorDash, said the deal was proceeding in line with the expected timeline, with closing projected in the fourth quarter of this year. The group forecast an annual core profit of £170million to £190million, the upper end of its previous forecast range. Adam Vettese, an analyst for eToro, said: 'Deliveroo is showing once again that online food delivery is here to stay. 'Its latest update demonstrates a decisive step forward both operationally and strategically. 'The company has reignited top line momentum, with orders and revenue around 9 per cent higher year on year with an acceleration visible into the second quarter.' 'The growth is not just restricted to its core UK and Ireland region, international markets like the UAE and Italy are thriving, and the business is driving expansion in grocery, retail, and advertising. 'Underpinning those gains are tangible improvements in consumer engagement and value proposition with order frequency and retention up as a result. 'While headline profitability was affected by exceptional costs linked to the pending DoorDash acquisition, on an underlying basis Deliveroo delivered a substantial 46 per cent gain in adjusted EBITDA. Moreover, the company lifted profit forecasts to the upper end of previous guidance.' Deliveroo shares remained flat on Thursday, having risen nearly 40 per cent in the last year.
Finextra
2 minutes ago
- Finextra
FCA tightens the screws on e-money firms; consumer groups say "too little, too late"
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has finalised new rules to protect consumer's money in the event of payment firm insolvency. 0 Under the rules. customer money must be kept separate from the firm's own money so that it is available to be returned if the firm fails. The move comes after the watchdog found that payment firms that became insolvent between Q1 2018 and Q2 2023 had average shortfalls of 65% of their customers' funds. Under the new regime, e-money firms that hold more £100,000 in customer funds must undertake annual audits and all firms must begin monthly reporting on their holdings and conduct daily checks to ensure the right amount of money is being safeguarded. Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets, FCA, says: "People rely on payment firms to help manage their financial lives. But too often, when those firms fail, their customers are left out of pocket. "'We'll be watching closely to see if firms seize the opportunity and make effective improvements that their customers rightly deserve - this will help us to determine whether any further tightening of rules is necessary." He says the the new rules will kick in after nine months in May next year, giving industry time to prepare. Consumer advocacy group the Transparency Taskforce has branded the new measures as "too little, too late" for consumers who have suffered devastating losses from payment firm failures. "The FCA is essentially admitting they've presided over a consumer protection disaster for the past seven years," says Taskforce founder Andy Agathangelou. "These aren't technical failures - these are real people losing their life savings, house purchase deposits, and emergency funds because the regulator failed to act. It's simply scandalous that it's taken this long for the FCA to acknowledge what consumer groups have been warning about. It's a lax and woefully tardy response from a regulator that has been promising to be more responsive, more proactive and more effective for years. "It seems the FCA has the capacity to watch detriment from the sidelines for far too long before eventually taking action. But even then the action taken simply doesn't go far enough. Consumers, and consumer groups just aren't being listened to; there's an asymmetry of influence over the regulator.' The group want to see swifter implementation of the rules and enforcement of universal audit requirement regardless of firm size. It is also demanding FSCs equivalent protection for all payment firm customers and an independent review of FCA's failure to protect consumers 2018-2023.
BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Newcastle are 'The Undateables'
"Newcastle have become the football equivalent of 'The Undateables' this summer because of the amount of people they have tried to sign and been rejected by", says The Telegraph's Luke United hijacking the Magpies' bid for Benjamin Sesko is now the latest disappointment for Eddie Howe."It will hurt but it is just repeating what has happened all summer," added Edwards on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast. "They go in for elite targets but every time they do, one of the legacy big six comes in too and snaps them up."Sesko has been tracked by Newcastle for a number of years and so had Hugo Ekitike. They were both pursued long term and it's failed."Unfortunately, as good as Eddie Howe's side have been since the takeover, they are not seen as an elite club in the transfer market."It's another nail in the coffin because they have gone head to head in the transfer market and the player has decided against joining them."This has ramifications for Alexander Isak as well, but my understanding was that Sesko wasn't being signed as his replacement and they just wanted a second striker."I think the only way Isak would go is if they brought in two strikers and they can't even bring in one."So why are Newcastle struggling to get players through the door this summer? "Wages are a part of it because they have a wage structure but I think there is still a legacy aura around the big six," added Edwards. "Those clubs are still more attractive on a reputational perspective to players."There are also the structural issues of Newcastle not having a sporting director since Paul Mitchell walked out before the transfer window opened. Him leaving wasn't a surprise, but the timing of it caught everyone by surprise."Newcastle were too slow at the start of the window, were stuttering and in a strange paralysis."Listen to the full discussion on the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds
