E-scooters to be trialled in Birmingham and Coventry
E-scooters are set to appear on West Midlands streets in a trial to help get the region moving once lockdown restrictions start to be lifted.
The Government has chosen the West Midlands for the trial. Extra pressure is expected to be put on the region’s transport network when Covid-19 lockdown restrictions start to be lifted but people still seek to observe social distancing measures on their daily commute.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council will now work together to test the technology and better understand the benefits this new form of transport could bring.
A priority for the trial will be to see how e-scooters can be safely used in public places. Until now, e-scooters can only be legally used on private property.
The Department for Transport, as part of its efforts to help ease the pressure on local public transport services during the recovery phase of Covid-19, wants to explore how e-scooters can complement existing transport options especially for short trips.
Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “The West Midlands is proud to be leading the way on future transport development, and I am pleased the Government has put its faith us in again with this new and innovative trial of e-scooters.
“This trial will help bring more flexibility, choice, and greener travel solutions for the region, at a time when we are facing a climate emergency and urging people to leave the car at home.
“We will also use the trial to look at the current transport challenges the coronavirus pandemic has presented us with and explore how e-scooters could be used to help tackle them.
“No region is better equipped than the West Midlands to test, review, and implement trials such as these at pace and scale, and that is testament to the hard work and innovation of those working in our future transport sector.”
The West Midlands trial will look closely at how e-scooters are able to support connectivity between key public transport interchanges and local centres. It will also look to the use of e-scooters in other countries.
E-scooters are already available to hire in large cities such as Barcelona and Vienna and provide a clean and efficient form of travel.
Using a dock system, they can be quickly hired and easily transported on other forms of public transport giving people greater flexibility to travel.
Laura Shoaf, managing director of TfWM, said: “We are pleased that the Government is to invest heavily in cycling and walking, not just to support the current situation, but to provide long-term benefits and we will be working hard with our local authority partners to boost the availability of greener active travel solutions for West Midlands residents.”
