3 days ago
Britain must learn from France's e-scooter mistake
An e-scooter revolution is coming to Britain whether the country likes it or not. 'The revolution will hurt a little, but it's necessary,' declared the vice-president of one of Europe's leading e-scooter rental companies. Christina Moe Gjerde of Sweden's Voi Technology has said her ambition was to have 50,000 more e-bikes and scooters on the streets of Britain. 'You [Britain] are sitting on a gold mine,' said Moe Gjerde. 'Get it right and there's so much potential.'
Private e-scooters are illegal on English roads but rental companies have been operating rolling trial schemes for a number of years in many towns and cities. The government wants more e-scooters and e-bikes and is encouraging local authorities to initiate more pilots. This roll-out would be regulated with restrictions on parking and speed. Moe Gjerde acknowledged that these two issues are a 'problem' and reasons why e-scooters are so divisive.
