“This trial has been going on now some three years. What are Government waiting for? Because a trial will result in two things, wont it Glenn. Either (A) they’ll be legal and you can go and buy one from the shop and use it, or (B) they’ll shove them all back in their boxes and send them back to where they came from.”

A fair question about e-scooters from John Darvall on BBC Radio Bristol this morning. I must admit I’m not really clear what is being waited for with trials instead being extended. I put it down to Government caution in my response, particularly around safety. In the same way perhaps that Government is being cautious about reporting back on its consultation on pavement parking in England which closed 1240 days ago!!

You can catch the interview here (for the next three hours) – it started at 10.08am – https://lnkd.in/ew3fNeym

I should pay credit to the incredible evaluation of the West of England e-scooter trial done by my colleagues at the University of the West of England‘s Centre for Transport & Society – Kiron Chatterjee, John Parkin, Tamara Bozovic and Jonathan Flower. You can find their report here. It offers rich insights into motivations for use, journey purpose, modes being replaced, carbon emissions, perceptions of safety, injury rates, equality, parking and more.

E-scooters, and the insights into their use now emerging, are a reminder of the busy and complex nature of urban environments in terms of travel modes, journey purposes, movement of people and goods, and allocation and use of roadspace.

Let’s be clear – many of the challenges in these environments typically stem from the disproportionate amount of space devoted to cars. This has compromised the appeal of public transport and active travel. Small wonder people are attracted to small vehicles that can be used flexibly as an alternative and indeed which may help make the urban space more permeable for them.

We should indeed be concerned about how changing forms of mobility impact upon different parts of society, accounting for neurodiversity, physical disability and other challenges faced in a system that hasn’t been designed for all. But let’s not single out e-scooters in this regard. For example, if we’re worried about e-scooters cluttering pavements, let’s first get Government to pull its finger out and sort out pavement parking (and increasingly oversized cars).

There is much change to contend with in terms of mobility including increasing levels of driver assistive technology and more goods delivery vehicles due to online shopping. Things are changing whether or not governments are keeping up. It is right and proper that trials take place but to expect to find perfect it to stand in the way of good as we move forwards in an ever-evolving and uncertain mobility landscape.

#futuremobility #escooters #pavementparking