Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the use of electric scooters.

The Department for Transport encourages innovation in transport, but not at the expense of road safety. It is important to ensure that new vehicles such as a e-scooters are built and can operate safely, both for people riding them and for other people using the roads. Whilst e-scooters can be used on private property (with the landowner’s permission), in general it is illegal to ride them on the road. This includes on cycle lanes, or tracks, or on the pavement.

An information sheet on powered transporters, including electric scooters, and where they can be used is available online at

www.gov.uk/government/publications/powered-transporters/information-sheet-guidance-on-powered-transporters.

Through the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, the Department is exploring how new technologies are changing the nature of transport. The Department will consider how the UK can take full advantage of these changes, and make UK transport infrastructure and regulation fit for the future.