London rental e-scooter trial

The report consists of data gathered by the rental e-scooters operators, as well as London Councils and the participating boroughs. Your views, alongside those of 50+ organisations and stakeholder groups were used to shape up this report.  

The learnings from London’s trial – and other trials happening across the country - will be used to inform future Government legislation and policy on e-scooters . 

Journeys 

Between June 2021 and September 2023, there were around 4,000 rental e-scooters available for hire in 10 participating boroughs.  

Together they were used to travel:

Mornings and evenings were the busiest for rental e-scooters, reflecting weekday patterns in other modes of transport. This also suggests e-scooters are being used to commute to and from work. 

On days of industrial action there was a significant uplift in customer journeys. This suggests that rental e-scooters were used as an alternative mode of transport. 

Safety 

The rental e-scooters used in the London trial have high safety standards which go beyond the national standards, including a speed limit of 12.5mph, larger wheels and lights that stay on while a scooter is being rented. 

• 0.001 per cent of trips resulted in serious injury (with the rate of serious injuries falling over time) 
• There were 3.9 serious injuries per million km travelled 
• No fatalities and 29 serious injuries 
• 210 customers banned for poor riding and anti-social behaviour 

Conclusion 

Rental e-scooters are the first new mode of transport to be introduced on London’s streets in over a decade.  

The findings in the report suggest that rental e-scooters can support public transport and active travel in reducing our reliance on car use and its impact on road danger, congestion, air quality and climate change. They have good safety records, are space efficient, are zero emission at tailpipe, and are managed in a way to minimise clutter on footways 

The second phase of the trial kicked off on 25 September 2023. It included a new provider and new safety features, as we shared in our update back then. 

In November 2023 the Department for Transport announced that the trial end date was extended from May 2024 to May 2026.  

TfL will continue to collect data and feedback on the trial to further improve the on-street experience for all, as well as piloting new technologies to understand whether these can support London’s policy goals