Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on parliamentary time for legislation on e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
His Majesty The King will set out the Government's legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session on 7 November.
The Government recognises that people want to take advantage of the opportunities e-scooters can offer. The Department is committed to encouraging innovation in transport, whilst ensuring new modes of transport are safe and secure by design.
There are several potential benefits to micromobility vehicles. They offer an alternative means of transport to those who would usually drive a car, and they could be an additional means of transport for people with certain disabilities.
E-scooters are less polluting than petrol and diesel powered vehicles at point of use. Therefore, using an e-scooter instead of driving is expected to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The Department’s national evaluation of the e-scooter trials estimated a total reduction between 269 to 348 tonnes of CO2e (to December 2021) across five case study areas due to modal shift from cars to rental e-scooters. However, more data needs to be gathered to understand lifecycle emissions of rental e-scooters.
The Department is aware of the observed mode shift from active travel to micromobility in the trials. The evaluation found that by December 2021 rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42 per cent), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21 per cent). However, the proportion of walking journeys replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time. The evaluation also found that frequent rental users were less likely to have travelled by foot in the absence of a rental e-scooter than infrequent users.
Users of e-scooters in current trials are required to have a provisional driving licence. The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations and will publicly consult before any new regulations come into force, including on licensing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring e-scooter users to be licensed.
Answered by Jesse Norman
His Majesty The King will set out the Government's legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session on 7 November.
The Government recognises that people want to take advantage of the opportunities e-scooters can offer. The Department is committed to encouraging innovation in transport, whilst ensuring new modes of transport are safe and secure by design.
There are several potential benefits to micromobility vehicles. They offer an alternative means of transport to those who would usually drive a car, and they could be an additional means of transport for people with certain disabilities.
E-scooters are less polluting than petrol and diesel powered vehicles at point of use. Therefore, using an e-scooter instead of driving is expected to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The Department’s national evaluation of the e-scooter trials estimated a total reduction between 269 to 348 tonnes of CO2e (to December 2021) across five case study areas due to modal shift from cars to rental e-scooters. However, more data needs to be gathered to understand lifecycle emissions of rental e-scooters.
The Department is aware of the observed mode shift from active travel to micromobility in the trials. The evaluation found that by December 2021 rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42 per cent), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21 per cent). However, the proportion of walking journeys replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time. The evaluation also found that frequent rental users were less likely to have travelled by foot in the absence of a rental e-scooter than infrequent users.
Users of e-scooters in current trials are required to have a provisional driving licence. The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations and will publicly consult before any new regulations come into force, including on licensing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of allowing privately owned scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
His Majesty The King will set out the Government's legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session on 7 November.
The Government recognises that people want to take advantage of the opportunities e-scooters can offer. The Department is committed to encouraging innovation in transport, whilst ensuring new modes of transport are safe and secure by design.
There are several potential benefits to micromobility vehicles. They offer an alternative means of transport to those who would usually drive a car, and they could be an additional means of transport for people with certain disabilities.
E-scooters are less polluting than petrol and diesel powered vehicles at point of use. Therefore, using an e-scooter instead of driving is expected to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The Department’s national evaluation of the e-scooter trials estimated a total reduction between 269 to 348 tonnes of CO2e (to December 2021) across five case study areas due to modal shift from cars to rental e-scooters. However, more data needs to be gathered to understand lifecycle emissions of rental e-scooters.
The Department is aware of the observed mode shift from active travel to micromobility in the trials. The evaluation found that by December 2021 rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42 per cent), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21 per cent). However, the proportion of walking journeys replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time. The evaluation also found that frequent rental users were less likely to have travelled by foot in the absence of a rental e-scooter than infrequent users.
Users of e-scooters in current trials are required to have a provisional driving licence. The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations and will publicly consult before any new regulations come into force, including on licensing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that electric vehicle charging infrastructure can also be used by (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government encourages industry innovation in charging infrastructure. However, it has no plans to request that electric vehicle chargepoint operators adapt their infrastructure to allow e-scooters and e-bikes access.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase (a) revenue and (b) capital funding for active travel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This Government remains committed to the vision that by 2030 half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked or cycled. Over £3 billion is projected to be invested in active travel up to 2025 from a wide range of funding streams, despite the need for efficiency savings across Government due to global financial pressures.
This includes at least £100 million of dedicated capital funding and £150 million of dedicated revenue funding between 2023-24 and 2024-25. Decisions on future funding will be made following a future Spending Review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of local journeys that will be made by active travel in 2030; and on what evidential basis he has made this assessment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government’s most recent assessment of this, including the evidential basis, was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, which is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-report-to-parliament-2022. The Government’s latest walking and cycling statistics, published in August 2023, show that in 2022 the proportion of short local journeys made by active travel was 46 per cent in towns and cities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of banning silent e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Only e-scooters in Government-approved rental trials can be used legally.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on all public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas. E-scooter trials are currently live in 23 areas across England and will run until 31 May 2024.
Safety for road users and pedestrians will always be a priority for the Department. In the guidance for the trials provided by the Department, it is advised that local authorities should ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive to pedestrians. The Department also recognises e-scooters may pose a particular challenge to those with disabilities. Operators and local authorities participating in the trials have been working with organisations representing disabled groups, such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Some of the outcomes have been designing parking racks, improved rider education and training, as well as a mandatory requirement for all e-scooters in the trial to be fitted with a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach.
All e-scooters in the rental trials must have a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach. Operators are also exploring installing sound or replicating artificial engine noise on their trial e-scooters to assist with detection.
Statistics on personal injury collisions involving e-scooters in Great Britain reported by police via the STATS19 system are available from 2020, with the latest provisional statistics for 2022. The number of reported injury collisions involving at least one e-scooter, involving a pedestrian casualty, or more than one vehicle, are shown in the table below.
Please note that a collision could involve both pedestrian casualties and multiple vehicles, in which case it could be counted more than once in the table. Statistics on collisions involving uninjured pedestrians are not collected.
Year | Total e-scooter collisions | Involving at least one pedestrian casualty | Involving another vehicle |
2020 | 460 | 57 | 377 |
2021 | 1352 | 227 | 1028 |
2022 (provisional) | 1369 | 226 | 1027 |
The Department has published an evaluation of the e-scooter trials covering the period from July 2020 to December 2021. This provided an assessment of the impact of our policies on trends in usage, including trip numbers. The evaluation findings are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-evaluation-of-e-scooter-trials-report.
As part of the trials evaluation, the Department has gathered information about modal shift. While the evaluation found that rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42%), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21%), the proportion of walking journeys being replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time.
Active travel is at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and it is investing more in it than any previous Government. The Department wants cycling and walking to be the natural first choice for shorter journeys, helping to improve air quality and health while reducing congestion on our roads. The Department has set an ambitious vision that by 2030, half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked.
The Department estimates that 2% (1,091,823 people) of adults, equivalent to one million people aged 16+, owned an e-scooter in England as of June 20221 . This figure is from the Transport and Technology Tracker (June 2022; base = 3162). A 95 % confidence interval gives a range of 847,660 - 1,335,986 people age 16+ who own an e-scooter in England.
The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations that would be enabled by new primary legislation for micromobility vehicles, which the Government intends to introduce when parliamentary time allows.
No decisions have been made, and we will consult on any new regulations before they come into force so that all interested parties have a chance to shape the new regime.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many collisions there have been between people riding e-scooters and (a) pedestrians and (b) other road users in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Only e-scooters in Government-approved rental trials can be used legally.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on all public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas. E-scooter trials are currently live in 23 areas across England and will run until 31 May 2024.
Safety for road users and pedestrians will always be a priority for the Department. In the guidance for the trials provided by the Department, it is advised that local authorities should ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive to pedestrians. The Department also recognises e-scooters may pose a particular challenge to those with disabilities. Operators and local authorities participating in the trials have been working with organisations representing disabled groups, such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Some of the outcomes have been designing parking racks, improved rider education and training, as well as a mandatory requirement for all e-scooters in the trial to be fitted with a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach.
All e-scooters in the rental trials must have a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach. Operators are also exploring installing sound or replicating artificial engine noise on their trial e-scooters to assist with detection.
Statistics on personal injury collisions involving e-scooters in Great Britain reported by police via the STATS19 system are available from 2020, with the latest provisional statistics for 2022. The number of reported injury collisions involving at least one e-scooter, involving a pedestrian casualty, or more than one vehicle, are shown in the table below.
Please note that a collision could involve both pedestrian casualties and multiple vehicles, in which case it could be counted more than once in the table. Statistics on collisions involving uninjured pedestrians are not collected.
Year | Total e-scooter collisions | Involving at least one pedestrian casualty | Involving another vehicle |
2020 | 460 | 57 | 377 |
2021 | 1352 | 227 | 1028 |
2022 (provisional) | 1369 | 226 | 1027 |
The Department has published an evaluation of the e-scooter trials covering the period from July 2020 to December 2021. This provided an assessment of the impact of our policies on trends in usage, including trip numbers. The evaluation findings are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-evaluation-of-e-scooter-trials-report.
As part of the trials evaluation, the Department has gathered information about modal shift. While the evaluation found that rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42%), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21%), the proportion of walking journeys being replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time.
Active travel is at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and it is investing more in it than any previous Government. The Department wants cycling and walking to be the natural first choice for shorter journeys, helping to improve air quality and health while reducing congestion on our roads. The Department has set an ambitious vision that by 2030, half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked.
The Department estimates that 2% (1,091,823 people) of adults, equivalent to one million people aged 16+, owned an e-scooter in England as of June 20221 . This figure is from the Transport and Technology Tracker (June 2022; base = 3162). A 95 % confidence interval gives a range of 847,660 - 1,335,986 people age 16+ who own an e-scooter in England.
The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations that would be enabled by new primary legislation for micromobility vehicles, which the Government intends to introduce when parliamentary time allows.
No decisions have been made, and we will consult on any new regulations before they come into force so that all interested parties have a chance to shape the new regime.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of use of of e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Only e-scooters in Government-approved rental trials can be used legally.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on all public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas. E-scooter trials are currently live in 23 areas across England and will run until 31 May 2024.
Safety for road users and pedestrians will always be a priority for the Department. In the guidance for the trials provided by the Department, it is advised that local authorities should ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive to pedestrians. The Department also recognises e-scooters may pose a particular challenge to those with disabilities. Operators and local authorities participating in the trials have been working with organisations representing disabled groups, such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Some of the outcomes have been designing parking racks, improved rider education and training, as well as a mandatory requirement for all e-scooters in the trial to be fitted with a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach.
All e-scooters in the rental trials must have a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach. Operators are also exploring installing sound or replicating artificial engine noise on their trial e-scooters to assist with detection.
Statistics on personal injury collisions involving e-scooters in Great Britain reported by police via the STATS19 system are available from 2020, with the latest provisional statistics for 2022. The number of reported injury collisions involving at least one e-scooter, involving a pedestrian casualty, or more than one vehicle, are shown in the table below.
Please note that a collision could involve both pedestrian casualties and multiple vehicles, in which case it could be counted more than once in the table. Statistics on collisions involving uninjured pedestrians are not collected.
Year | Total e-scooter collisions | Involving at least one pedestrian casualty | Involving another vehicle |
2020 | 460 | 57 | 377 |
2021 | 1352 | 227 | 1028 |
2022 (provisional) | 1369 | 226 | 1027 |
The Department has published an evaluation of the e-scooter trials covering the period from July 2020 to December 2021. This provided an assessment of the impact of our policies on trends in usage, including trip numbers. The evaluation findings are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-evaluation-of-e-scooter-trials-report.
As part of the trials evaluation, the Department has gathered information about modal shift. While the evaluation found that rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42%), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21%), the proportion of walking journeys being replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time.
Active travel is at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and it is investing more in it than any previous Government. The Department wants cycling and walking to be the natural first choice for shorter journeys, helping to improve air quality and health while reducing congestion on our roads. The Department has set an ambitious vision that by 2030, half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked.
The Department estimates that 2% (1,091,823 people) of adults, equivalent to one million people aged 16+, owned an e-scooter in England as of June 20221 . This figure is from the Transport and Technology Tracker (June 2022; base = 3162). A 95 % confidence interval gives a range of 847,660 - 1,335,986 people age 16+ who own an e-scooter in England.
The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations that would be enabled by new primary legislation for micromobility vehicles, which the Government intends to introduce when parliamentary time allows.
No decisions have been made, and we will consult on any new regulations before they come into force so that all interested parties have a chance to shape the new regime.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to encourage a shift from cars to (a) e-scooters and (b) other forms of active travel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Only e-scooters in Government-approved rental trials can be used legally.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on all public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas. E-scooter trials are currently live in 23 areas across England and will run until 31 May 2024.
Safety for road users and pedestrians will always be a priority for the Department. In the guidance for the trials provided by the Department, it is advised that local authorities should ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive to pedestrians. The Department also recognises e-scooters may pose a particular challenge to those with disabilities. Operators and local authorities participating in the trials have been working with organisations representing disabled groups, such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People. Some of the outcomes have been designing parking racks, improved rider education and training, as well as a mandatory requirement for all e-scooters in the trial to be fitted with a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach.
All e-scooters in the rental trials must have a horn or bell to warn other road users of their approach. Operators are also exploring installing sound or replicating artificial engine noise on their trial e-scooters to assist with detection.
Statistics on personal injury collisions involving e-scooters in Great Britain reported by police via the STATS19 system are available from 2020, with the latest provisional statistics for 2022. The number of reported injury collisions involving at least one e-scooter, involving a pedestrian casualty, or more than one vehicle, are shown in the table below.
Please note that a collision could involve both pedestrian casualties and multiple vehicles, in which case it could be counted more than once in the table. Statistics on collisions involving uninjured pedestrians are not collected.
Year | Total e-scooter collisions | Involving at least one pedestrian casualty | Involving another vehicle |
2020 | 460 | 57 | 377 |
2021 | 1352 | 227 | 1028 |
2022 (provisional) | 1369 | 226 | 1027 |
The Department has published an evaluation of the e-scooter trials covering the period from July 2020 to December 2021. This provided an assessment of the impact of our policies on trends in usage, including trip numbers. The evaluation findings are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-evaluation-of-e-scooter-trials-report.
As part of the trials evaluation, the Department has gathered information about modal shift. While the evaluation found that rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42%), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21%), the proportion of walking journeys being replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time.
Active travel is at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and it is investing more in it than any previous Government. The Department wants cycling and walking to be the natural first choice for shorter journeys, helping to improve air quality and health while reducing congestion on our roads. The Department has set an ambitious vision that by 2030, half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked.
The Department estimates that 2% (1,091,823 people) of adults, equivalent to one million people aged 16+, owned an e-scooter in England as of June 20221 . This figure is from the Transport and Technology Tracker (June 2022; base = 3162). A 95 % confidence interval gives a range of 847,660 - 1,335,986 people age 16+ who own an e-scooter in England.
The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations that would be enabled by new primary legislation for micromobility vehicles, which the Government intends to introduce when parliamentary time allows.
No decisions have been made, and we will consult on any new regulations before they come into force so that all interested parties have a chance to shape the new regime.