Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prevent the import of modified (a) e-scooters, (b) micro scooters and (c) e-bikes that are capable of being driven at speeds in excess of the permitted speed limit for public roads in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act and are subject to laws requiring them to be built and used safely, meaning that users need to have insurance, driving licences, number plates, and helmets. The law was not drafted with e-scooters in mind, and in practice users of e-scooters will find it a challenge to comply with these legal requirements. Offences relating to driving standards and speeding also apply. Ministers from the Department have written to micromobility retailers, and will do so again, reminding them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products about regulation and guidance being provided to retailers.
Electric cycles which can offer power assistance at speeds exceeding 15.5 mph, do not, in the Department’s opinion, comply with the relevant Regulations and therefore would also be considered to be a motor vehicle.
The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use. Enforcement of offences relating to unlawful use of motor vehicles is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police in conjunction with local policing plans. They decide what offences may be appropriate in individual cases, taking into account the circumstances.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish data for road traffic accidents involving e-scooters, electric bikes and electric skateboards on (a) public highways and (b) pavements in the last 12 months or the most recent period for which that data is available.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Data on personal injury road accidents is collected via the STATS19 system of accidents reported by the police.
Electric scooters and other micromobility vehicles are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.
Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, we intend to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the annual Reported Road Casualties Great Britain statistics publication in September 2021.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of issues with the use of e-scooters in (1) Coventry, and (2) Middlesbrough; and what plans they have to pause the e-scooter rental trials until appropriate safeguards are introduced to protect pedestrians.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no plans to pause national e-scooter trials, which are absolutely essential if we are to fully assess this new mode and inform longer term micromobility policy. Officials are in close and regular contact with local authorities and e-scooter operators in live e-scooter trial areas. We are encouraging rapid action be taken to respond to operational issues as soon as they arise and ensuring that any lessons from early implementation are applied in subsequent trials. For example, issues which arose during the first week of the Middlesbrough trial, caused by a small minority of users, were quickly resolved with licence verification software and improved geo-fencing technology.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to enable the use of e-scooters on roads.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department is preparing regulations that will enable trials of rental e-scooters to begin. Trials will gather evidence of the safety of e-scooters and the impacts they have on the road. This will inform any future legislation for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles. The Department recently consulted on proposed rules for e-scooter use that will be contained in the regulations and is working with local authorities to allow trials to begin soon.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of e-scooters on capacity levels in (a) cycle lanes and (b) other under-used road infrastructure.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department has not assessed the effects of trials of e-scooters on the capacity of cycle lanes or under-used road infrastructure. There is limited evidence available about the impact of e-scooters on the road network. This is why we are preparing to start trials of e-scooters. The trials will allow us to gather evidence about the impacts of e-scooters including which parts of road space they may be used. This will inform future policy for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles.
The Department has recently laid regulations which allow local authorities to make Emergency Traffic Regulation Orders for measures needed to deal with the effects of coronavirus. Alternative publicity arrangements are also now available for other types of Order. These regulations can be used to create new cycles lanes, which e-scooters could use.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of car journeys that will replaced by the use of e-scooters in the upcoming trials.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
There is limited evidence available about the impact of e-scooters on the road network. Recent evidence from European cities suggests around 15-20% of e-scooter journeys could replace journeys by car.
The trials will allow us to gather evidence about the impacts of e-scooters including what mode shift they cause. This will inform future policy for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence his Department assessed when deciding to set the speed limit for e-scooters in forthcoming trials at 12.5mph.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department’s consultation on the rules for e-scooters proposed a speed limit of 12.5 mph. The Department considered evidence available from international organisations, published reports and considered the rules for e-scooter use in other countries. We also took account of the responses received from the Future of Transport regulatory review call for evidence. The proposed speed limit also directly influences what other rules should apply to the use of e-scooters.
There is limited evidence on the impact of different speed limits for e-scooters and a range of speed limits apply in other countries.
However, we are currently analysing the responses to the consultation.
The trials will allow us to gather evidence about the about the use of e-scooters and their effects on other road users. This will inform future policy for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence his Department assessed when deciding to set the motor wattage for e-scooters in the forthcoming trials at 350W.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department’s consultation on the rules for e-scooters asked whether there should be a maximum power set for e-scooters and asked whether 350W is an appropriate limit. The Department has considered evidence available from international organisations, published reports and considered the rules for e-scooter use in other countries. We also took account of the responses received from the Future of Transport regulatory review call for evidence. The proposed power limit also directly influences what other rules should apply to the use of e-scooters.
There is limited evidence on the impact of different maximum power limits for e-scooters and a range of different power limits apply in other countries.
We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation.
The trials will allow us to gather evidence about the use of e-scooters and their effects on other road users. This will inform future policy for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage the manufacture of e-bikes in the UK.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We want the UK to be the best place to start and grow a business and to be a world leader in the way people, goods, and services move. As part of our planning for the future UK economy, we will be policies that will move us towards a stronger, fairer, greener economy that builds on UK strengths, such as science and entrepreneurship.
We have invested £350 million in the seven High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres across the UK, which are supporting manufacturers to bring new technologies to market, and we will be investing an additional £600 million by the end of 2023.
As part of the Future of Transport Grand Challenge, we are working with the Department for Transport to ensure firms, including e-bike manufacturers, have access to the right supply of talented labour and the right business support, including access to finance. The Department for Transport is also working to create a flexible regulatory framework for micromobility vehicles and, through funding to support the uptake of e-bikes and e-cargo bikes, is helping us to create domestic demand, which is essential to growing the UK e-bike manufacturing base.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for the commencement of the review entitled, the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy regulatory review.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department for Transport commenced a regulatory review in March 2019, as announced in the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy.
As stated at that time, we expect the review to take place over a number of years. However we also said that we would not wait until the full process is complete before acting on our most significant and pressing findings.
The call for evidence published on 16 March 2020 is an important milestone in the review. It asks for information and views on micromobility vehicles, flexible bus services and mobility as a service (MaaS). The call for evidence deadline has recently been extended to 3rd July.