Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate the carriage of (a) e-scooters and (b) e-bikes on rural train services.

It is for individual train operators to decide whether e-scooters and e-bikes are accepted on their trains, following risk assessments to determine the safety of accepting these vehicles onboard. In general, e-scooters are not permitted on train services, whilst e-bikes are permitted provided they meet certain conditions. This includes being road-legal, stored in a designated area and not charged on trains.

In terms of wider public transport, the government recognises the benefits that e-scooters and e-bikes can bring and published guidance to public transport operators in February 2024, aimed at ensuring that responses to fire risks are appropriately targeted, effective, and proportionate, so that the potential of these forms of transport is not unnecessarily limited.