E-scooter trials - questions and answers

The trials are taking place in defined areas in Basildon, Colchester, Chelmsford. Small long term hire trials also took place in Brentwood and Braintree.

Essex is growing fast in population, homes and the number of people using our roads. If we don’t quickly find alternatives to some local journeys currently made in cars, we will have serious issues with congestion and pollution. Essex wants to be a leader in more sustainable, safe travel and transport for the potential jobs that will bring to the county but above all for the health and safety and efficient travel of our residents - part of our Safer, Greener, Healthier work. The e-scooter trials are designed in partnership with city, borough and district councils in Essex.

E-scooters can be quickly introduced, don’t impact on facilities for other travel or transport, can be rapidly rolled out across the county if trials are successful and have proved attractive for local travel across the world. They are an alternative to bicycles for those who want quick and easy, flexible on/off hire and our short-term schemes have no ownership, storage or security obligations.

The Government’s Department for Transport (DfT) has made orders that only the designated hire scooters are legal for the trial period and in the trial areas. Trials are currently being run across the country in various locations. Any e-scooters used anywhere other than the trial areas remain illegal (unless used on private land).

Under the new Transport Bill introduced in the 2022 Queen’s Speech, private electric scooters will be eventually legally allowed to ride them on public roads. Details of the Bill or timeline for implementation are yet to be published.

E-scooter hire may prove to be an alternative for commuters who no longer want to use their car for getting to the local station, say, or for workers who live quite close to their workplace for whom car-parking is a problem. ‘Park and Scoot’ options are being considered, to encourage scheme uptake.

Research conducted in June 2021 reveals that Spin e-scooters are most often used for short journeys, on average 3km in distance and 23 minutes in length, with 82% of riders stating they have used a Spin e-scooter to replace a solo drive car journey at least once already.

Research conducted by Spin in November 2022 demonstrated a clear modeshift, with riders regularly opting to use e-scooters rather than private cars, to make some key journeys. Commuting to work was the most commonly selected activity by Essex respondents, with 40% of respondents selecting it as an activity they use an e-scooter hire scheme for, closely followed by running general errands (39.2%), with going to and from public transportation stops on (32.3%). 63.9% of Essex survey respondents have used an e-scooter hire scheme to go to a local business to make a purchase. 75.1% of Essex respondents use an e-scooter hire scheme instead of using a personal car at least a few times a month, with some respondents using them considerably more.

Enforcement is a matter ultimately for Essex Police, who are supporting these trials. Any e-scooters used anywhere other than the trial areas remain illegal (unless used on private land) The e-scooter operator is working hard to ensure that their e-scooters can only be used correctly in the designated areas and will ban or warn users reported to be using the scheme inappropriately.

For short term hires Spin does not charge an unlock fee but a simple £0.20 per minute fee. Spin has also introduced commuter passes and free or subsidised rides for NHS workers and people on low incomes. You must register with the scheme via the app and then provide a valid driving licence.

When TIER replaces Spin in June, TIER will introduce their pricing model which includes a £1 unlock fee and a 15p per minute cost. TIER has a range of low cost passes and packages and subsidised rides for blue light workers and people looking for work.

E-scooters are classed as motor vehicles. That means you must be 18 or over, have a driving licence (including holding a provisional licence) and be insured to drive them. Insurance is included in the e-scooter hire fee. You must download the free Spin or later TIER app, complete the in app training and add a payment card. Once a user has unlocked a scooter they will be insured to ride for the duration of their journey. Only the person who has unlocked the scooter is allowed to ride.

Although helmets will not be a legal requirement for the trial, we always recommend users wear a helmet.  TIER will be doing helmet giveaways to users throughout the scheme, for example at safety training sessions.

Government is responsible for any final decisions on the results of the trials and as to whether e-scooters should be legalised for wider use, but criteria will include how many people use them, safe use and benefits in replacing car journeys.

In May it was announced that under the new Transport Bill introduced in the 2022 Queen’s Speech, private electric scooters will be eventually legally allowed to ride them on public roads. Details of the Bill or timeline for implementation are yet to be published.

The trials are due to conclude in November 2022. Data gathered from Essex’s trial will improve our understanding of how many people adopt the e-scooters to get around, where they are used and the impact they have on existing traffic patterns, as well as any environmental, safety and enforcement impacts.

Spin legal hire scooters have been a brightly coloured orange and look very different from typical illegal (when used on public roads or pavements) private scooters which are often grey or black. Legal scooters will have Spin logos on, visible at closer inspection.

TIER’s new model to be deployed in Essex is even more distinguishable with a greatly different design and full vehicle teal colour. These scooters will also have ID plates.

These scooters must not be ridden on the pavement (unless it is already a shared use cycleway with pedestrians). E-scooters are classed as motor vehicles, so police can enforce against people riding on the pavement, just as they can if a car drives on the pavement. Scooters are fitted with bells and lights to warn pedestrians, if necessary, of their approach. Pedestrians always have right of way and the training required for people registering with the scheme will remind driving-licence holders of that. The speed limit is set to a maximum of 12.5 mph.

You can ride a hire e-scooter on almost any road, within the trial areas, which is up to and including a 30mph limit and on any designated cycleway, including shared use.  There will be a small number of no-ride zones in high-footfall and very busy areas, such as near shopping centres where you will not be able to ride the e-scooter to ensure other road users’ safety. Always check ahead of your journey in the app where these zones are.

Scooters will be “geo-fenced” using GPS satellite technology so that the motor will not work outside the designated, legal trial areas.

People hiring these scooters must be adults with a driving licence. The rider can then be traced if they do ride or otherwise behave dangerously with the e-scooter. Drivers and riders of all sorts of vehicles currently must drive safely and e-scooters are no different. Anyone abandoning their e-scooter in a dangerous place could be prosecuted and certainly have their membership of the scheme suspended.

We appreciate that some trial e-scooters may seem as if they've been abandoned for those unfamiliar with the operator's parking policy. They are most likely just waiting for a new rider to pick it up. Riders are educated on parking best practice and the operator has teams who constantly review and relocate vehicles.

Bicycles don’t suit everyone. Not everyone who needs to travel short distances can walk quickly or has the physical ability to cycle. Bikes, even some e-bikes, need significant effort to go uphill and it may not be suitable for everyone to arrive at their destination having, for example, sweated while cycling, inside heavy winter or rain clothes.

Traffic Act 1988; Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999; Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016; and Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002.

The speed limit is set to a maximum of 12.5 mph. Trial e-scooters have a maximum speed of 10 MPH on the first ride and riders can toggle a maximum speed for following rides in app.

Spin Mobility Ltd, part of the Ford Motor Company, was originally selected to operate the trials in the Autumn of 2020 with the first fleet deployed in December 2020. The trials come at no cost to Essex County Council or the participating Districts.

In Spring 2022, Spin globally became part of TIER Mobility AG, Europe’s leading shared micromobility provider. With this change, TIER and Spin became the world’s largest multimodal micromobility operator, with a global footprint of 300,000 vehicles across 520 cities, towns and universities in 21 countries. Tier currently runs e-scooter trials similar to Spin's Essex schemes in York and across London working with TfL. Ford Motor Company remains involved as a strategic partner of this new arrangement globally.