Three boroughs joined the London shared e-scooter trials on Monday, with 1,200 scooters now available for rent across the city.
City of London and northern parts of Lambeth will now have e-scooters available, while Southwark has joined as a “ride-through” borough.
The trials began on 7 June in Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond, Tower Hamlets and Canary Wharf, with 600 e-scooters available for the past month.
Operated by three providers – Lime, Dott and Tier – the scheme is part of the UK-wide trials that were developed in order to inform micromobility policy going forward.
“I’m pleased that London’s rental e-scooter trial is expanding to cover the City of London, and parts of Lambeth and Southwark,” said Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner.
“Extending the footprint of the trial to more areas will enable us to get a better understanding of the role e-scooters can play in switching car journeys to greener and more sustainable alternatives. Safety continues to be at the heart of our trial, with London’s more stringent safety standards also in place in the new large area.”
“We’ve worked closely with the City of London, Lambeth and Southwark to ensure this expansion of the trial works for everybody in the area,” added Helen Sharp, TfL’s e-scooter trial lead.
“London’s safety-first trial of e-scooters is already providing vital data about the long-term role they could play in a greener and healthier future for the capital and this expansion will further help to shape UK and London policy in the area. Safety remains our top priority and we will continue to closely monitor e-scooters in the new and existing trial areas, making improvements wherever identified.”
Zag analysis
While the expansion is welcome, the new area is small and very central, and is therefore unlikely to displace car trips.
Furthermore, the scheme is still split into three operating areas which are not joined together, as can be seen on the map below.
Zag wrote last month about geofencing issues in London and the latest announcement does not suggest that these will be resolved.
