Agenda item

To receive a report on the interim results of the E-Scooter Trial in Westminster, and to answer questions from Members.

6.1       The Committee received a written and short verbal update from Raj Mistry (Executive Director for Environment and City Management) on the interim results of the TFL E-Scooter trial taking place across Westminster.

6.2       Elizabeth Gaden (E-Scooter Trial Stakeholder and Contracts Manager at TFL) and Giacomo Vecia (Senior Strategic Transport Officer at City for London Corporation) attended the Committee as expert witnesses. 

6.3       The Committee discussed the following topics in detail:

•           Safety requirements around electric scooters

•           The nuisance the scooters cause to residents

•           Whether it was tourists or residents using the scooters

•           How TFL and the council were tracking complaints

•           Whether the use of the scooters will encourage a model shift from cars

•           If the Scooters were individually identifiable and if licences were required

•           The correlation between increased journeys and injuries

6.4       Concerning safety requirements needed to rent a scooter, TFL informed the Committee that in order to rent a scooter a provisional driving licence was required. TFL informed the Committee that out of approximately 300,000 journeys, 9 serious injuries had been reported and that incident rates are not increasing in line with journeys suggesting the majority of journeys are safe. Members of the Committee asked whether helmets needed to become mandatory as there is a risk of head injury using these scooters.

6.5       Regarding the nuisance the scooters van cause to residents, TFL informed the Committee that individuals can be charged and/or fined for leaving scooters outside of designated bays or driving dangerously. TFL has a service level agreement with the providers to pick up scooters not left in designated bays within a certain timeframe.

6.6       The Committee discussed whether it was tourists or residents using the scooters and whether it was encouraging a switch to active transport if it was just tourists using the scooters.

6.7       The Committee were informed that TFL are capturing incidents through the complaints tracker and capturing complaints going to the operator. Members of the Committee questioned whether all incidents were being captured if relying on members of the public to complain to the operators. TFL informed the Committee that there is reliance on self-reporting across all rental equipment including Santander bikes.

6.8       Concerning encouraging a model shift from cars, the Committee felt they did not have access to the appropriate data to comment on whether the scooters were encouraging this. However, it was noted by some members that younger people who seemed to be using the scooters more, were setting positive behaviours by using active transport such as this.

6.9       It was noted that were traffic orders in place to allow e-scooters to drive in cycle lanes and that it was illegal for more than one person to ride on an e-scooter. It was also noted that TFL were working to implement an acoustic signalling system into the trail for those with sight impairments.

6.10     The Committee discussed pavement parking and how the scooters were causing accessibility issues for disabled people on the pavement. It was noted by the independent witness that the City of London undertook an extensive equality impact assessment before the trial was rolled out across the City of London and disabled accessibility was examined as part of this.

6.11     RESOLVED: that the Committee note the report.