You may have noticed that we’re about to have a General Election in the UK
Jun 5, 2024
No doubt you’ll soon have prospective MPs knocking on your door and trying to get your vote. If you care about the future of micromobility in your town or city, we’ve come up with some questions you can ask candidates to make sure they prioritise cycling and scooting if they’re elected. ❎
Did you know that at the moment, only rental e-scooters like ours are legal in the UK, but they can only operate in cities and towns which are part of the UK government e-scooter trials? That’s why there are no rental e-scooters in places like Glasgow and Leeds.
The UK government e-scooter trials started in 2020 and were supposed to gather data ahead of legislation being introduced to make e-scooters permanent. However, the government has successively delayed legislation by extending the trials - most recently until May 2026. This means that nowhere other than the current trial locations can have rental e-scooters. It’s illegal to ride private e-scooters on any public roads and paths in the UK.
We have been calling on the government to bring in legislation to make e-scooters permanent so more towns and cities can benefit from this safe, affordable and sustainable form of transport. We want the government to introduce a new light zero emission vehicle category. You can read more about it here. At the moment e-scooters are categorised as cars - which is why you need a driving licence to use one.
We want the new government after the election to make it a priority to bring in this legislation - and that’s where you come in.
Questions for your parliamentary candidates
You can help us put the future of e-scooters in the UK onto the political agenda by asking candidates these questions:
Will you ask the new government to fix a date for legislation to make e-scooter trials permanent?
Will you ask the new government to enable new towns and cities to introduce trials of their own while we wait for legislation?
Can you ask the new government to change the requirement for me to have a driving licence to ride a rental e-scooter because I’ve chosen not to drive a car.
Remember to vote - and travel to the polling station for free
We want to make it easy for you to go and vote - so check back on Instagram, X, Facebook or LinkedIn for a code to get free rides to your polling station and back.. Don’t forget to take your photo ID with you when you go to vote!
Thanks in advance for your help.
