This is the way to do it.
Today, Neuron is launching its 250-strong fleet of shared electric scooters in Slough. The 12-month trial is the first in the UK to make extensive use of parking locations to combat street clutter. More than 60 spaces are distributed throughout the service area, with 25 of those in the town centre.
So how do they work? The locations are marked in the app and, in the real world, on the ground. Each will have a QR code that a rider must scan before a ride can be ended there. This feature is in addition to the more-familiar slow zones and red zones that are used in most other trial locations.
This is the largest launch in terms of scooter numbers that we’ve seen for a while. Most towns and cities have opted to go for much smaller roll-outs, to ease scooters into the fabric of the place rather than risk the sudden and marked flurry of badly-behaved or poorly-educated users that characterised early trial launches in some areas.
Neuron is deploying its N3 scooter which has lots of nifty features that we explained here.
Neuron has also decided to fit number plates, following Voi’s lead.
Rental fees are £1 to unlock (pretty standard for the UK) and 18p/min to ride (about halfway between the cheapest and most expensive ride fees in the country).
Package prices are available, set at £15 for three days, £22 for a week and £36 for a month. Each package deletes unlock fees and allows for 90 minutes of riding every day.
A safety team will cruise the city to disinfect scooters, offer tips to riders and correct any errant parking.
Zag’s resident data scientist Oliver O’Brien tested out a Neuron e-scooter recently; we’ll publish his thoughts soon.
