Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Paragraph: 16
Privately owned e-scooters are already a familiar sight in many British towns and cities, despite...
Conclusion
Privately owned e-scooters are already a familiar sight in many British towns and cities, despite remaining illegal to use on roads and pavements. They have the potential to offer a low cost, accessible and environmentally friendly alternative to the private car. The Department for Transport’s focus must be on developing and implementing a sensible and proportionate regulatory framework for legal e-scooter use, drawing on lessons from other countries, which ensures that potential negative impacts on pedestrians and disabled people are avoided.
Paragraph Reference:
16
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government partly agrees with this recommendation. An appropriate and effective regulatory legal framework for e-scooter use will, of course, be a priority and work is underway to understand, for example, the lessons that can be gleaned from other countries and a variety of stakeholders. However, the prior stage is to fully understand the impacts—both positive and negative—of this new mode. Only then will the Government make any decisions about legislating for the long term and the regulatory underpinning to ensure e-scooters are used as safely and efficiently as possible. Evaluation of e-scooter trials across the country will provide us with the evidence needed about their impacts as well as what cities and other stakeholders consider the most appropriate regulatory framework to be.