Everything You Need to Know About e-Scooters

Electric scooters have grown in popularity all around the world within the last 2 years as they’ve been rolled out on a rental basis. They’re now available for anyone to buy, and in our opinion are an amazing way to get around, but the laws around them are currently in an in-between stage where they can be used under certain conditions in certain places, but if they’re not used where and how they should be then it’s actually an offence and you could get fined. We’ve put together everything you need to know about them before you take the plunge into the new electric powered small vehicle era.

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What is an e-Scooter?

An e-scooter is an electronically powered scooter that has a motor to propel you forwards. They’re an eco-friendly method of travel that are slowly starting to become mainstream; they’re still in a trial period to check their safety and ease of use, but once this trial is complete, we are confident that they will become the new go-to way to get around thanks to their economically and environmentally friendly properties.

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Are they safe?

Yes they are safe if used correctly and you wear proper protective equipment. They are still being tested for this but from our personal use of them and from how popular they’ve become as rental transport, we’d say they’re as safe as the rider makes them. Think of them as a car, cars are safe if you drive them properly and wear your seatbelt, but if you don’t then they can be very dangerous.

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Are they legal in the UK?

In short the answer is yes they are, but because they’re in a grey area due to the outdated UK road laws, they’re illegal in most circumstances. Rental scooters, if kept in their correct zones and ridden by someone with a provisional or full driving licence, are legal to be ridden on public roads and cycle lanes (not on pavements or motorways), but privately owned scooters are still illegal to be ridden anywhere apart from on private property. You can of course purchase your own e-scooter in preparation for them inevitably being made legal; you’ll just have to stick to messing around on it and having fun off of public highways until then.

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How will the rental trials work and where will they be?

The idea behind the rental trials is to essentially conduct a risk assessment on the e-scooters while attempting to roll them out in the same way as rental bikes. The benefit of having them as rentals is that you can test it and see if you like them before you get one; it minimises the costs associated with owning one yourself. Electric scooters are slowly becoming available throughout the country on a rental basis. Make sure you check your locality for any news on where to rent them and how to go about doing so.

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Take advantage of the rental e-Scooters as soon as you can so you can get a feel for them before they’re made into the new standard for short travel. They are extremely fun to ride and will hopefully aid with decreasing congestion and the amount of cars on the road. We are excited about our e-future and we’re sure that the planet is too!