By Jamie Shapiro, Local Democracy Reporter
Electric scooters could be staying on the roads in Southampton for another two-and-a-half years, as Southampton City Council prepares to vote on an extension of the scheme.
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The scheme is run by the DfT (Department for Transport) and participating authorities across the country have to issue their own vehicle special orders (VSOs) to continue to allow e-scooters to be legally used.
The end date for the scheme was May 2024, but it’s now likely to be extended to May 2026.
Since the environmentally friendly mode of transport was first introduced to Southampton back in March 2021, the council said more than one-and-a-half million rides have been made, travelling a total distance of over three-and-a-half million kilometres – or in other words, to the moon and back five times.
It is estimated that more than 655,000 car trips have been replaced during the trial, saving the equivalent of 340 tonnes of CO2.
In a survey carried out in the Autumn of 2022, 42 per cent of respondents who had used an e-scooter said that if they hadn’t done so, they would have used a private vehicle.
Not everybody is ready to welcome the next two-and-a-half years of usage, however.
A council report states that there are ‘concerns that users will ride on pavements, at speed and otherwise inappropriately’.
Other concerns listed include the ‘perception that rental e-scooters could be detrimental to community safety (e.g. users congregating at racks, dropping litter at racks, driving e-scooters dangerously or congregation at parking areas)’.
Another is that ‘high levels of e-scooter use in cycle lanes and paths could discourage women from walking or cycling in these areas if users of e-scooters are travelling at higher speeds or they are perceived to be less manoeuvrable’.
However, on the whole, the scheme is considered to be positive.
The council’s cabinet is expected to vote in the scheme extension on Tuesday, January 16 — and will need to extend its contract with Voi, the s-scooter supplier, before the contract ends this May.