What is the Slough e-scooter rental trial scheme
In 2020 the Government invited Local Authorities to run trial e-scooter rental schemes. These trial schemes, operated to a high standard, gather data to help the Government to understand the impacts and benefits of e-scooters, and to inform the future legal status of, and associated regulations for, e-scooters. They also gather valuable information on usage, travel patterns and ridership.
We introduced the Slough e-scooter rental trial scheme in October 2020, commissioning Neuron Mobility to operate 300 dockless e-scooters.
The Government has confirmed that the existing e-scooter rental trial schemes can now run until 31 May 2026, when they will make a formal decision on whether to fully legalise the use of e-scooters.
We suspended our trial scheme on 30 November 2022.
A new scheme, with Zipp Mobility, will begin on 28 May 2024. The restarted trial will help us collect more data to analyse the impact of the e-scooters. If e-scooters are made fully legal by the Government, we may then keep the e-scooter rental scheme permanently (subject to Cabinet approval).
Our e-scooter survey ran from April to August 2022 to help us understand residents' views and the impacts and benefits of e-scooters. There was no formal requirement to consult on the trial scheme.