Neuron Mobility and Newcastle City Council have announced that the e-scooter trial in the university city in northeast England will continue until May 2024.
Since the e-scooter trial first launched in February 2021, Newcastle riders have completed more than 900,000 miles in trips. Zag’s data shows that there has been close to one million journeys in Newcastle, which is in the top 10 highest ridership counts in the UK.
The trial extension comes with a new parking strategy and a discount programme for low-income residents.
Riders ending their trip in the Jesmond area and in the city centre will have to park at one of 100 designated stations in the area so that vehicles are not left on the pavement.
“We’re delighted to be able to extend the rental e-scooter service to mid-2024 and we’re really proud that, during almost two years of operating in Newcastle, our e-scooters have become integral to how people get around the city,” Cormac Quinn, UK and Ireland General Manager at Neuron told Zag Daily.
“We’re particularly pleased to be rolling out a new parking model as part of this extension, developed in consultation with the Council and the partially-sighted community, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), to ensure the e-scooter trial continues to be integrated into the city in the best possible way.”
Neuron will also launch concession passes with up to 50% discounts for low-income riders and those who are enrolled in eligible government support programmes.
Cllr Jane Byrne, Cabinet Member for Connected Clean City at Newcastle City Council, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work together with Neuron so that residents, including those on lower incomes, can continue to use the e-scooters while also putting in place arrangements to help improve the way the scooters are integrated into the city’s transport mix.
“We are really encouraged that our riders – plus an increasing number of local businesses and venues – are recognising some of the benefits rental e-scooters are bringing to the city. It’s great to see that many people are benefiting from the opportunity to use the e-scooters as a convenient way to get around – and importantly as an alternative to making a journey by car.”
A survey that went out to all Neuron riders in Newcastle via its app found that 97% said the scheme has created a positive impact on the city.
Recently, a Neuron report showed that Newcastle’s economy has seen an injection of £8.9 million a year from rental e-scooter riders moving around the city.
Across England, riders have now made approximately 30 million journeys since the shared e-scooter trials began in summer 2020.
