The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) says it wants to collaborate with e-scooter operators, in a bid to encourage “safe and socially responsible” use.
Trials of rental e-scooters were made legal by the Government in July 2020, having been fast tracked in a bid to ease pressure on public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trials, which are due to last 12 months, are designed to help the Government assess the benefits of e-scooters – in particular their impact on public space, motor traffic, the environment and safety.
PACTS – through its executive director David Davies – has been an outspoken critic of the trials and wider legalisation of e-scooters.
Outlining its position in June 2020, PACTS said while electric scooters appear ‘cool’, there are few – if any – public benefits to their legalisation.
At the time, PACTS pointed to ‘growing evidence’ of the health and safety disbenefits of electric scooters – both in terms of the design and use.
It also expressed fear the trials, despite the restrictions proposed, would also be seen as a green light to unregulated use by the public.
Following this, PACTS was approached by two e-scooter operators, Tier and Bolt. The former has since become a member of PACTS – and invited David Davies to join its safety board.
Fred Jones, Tier general manager for Northern Europe, told the micromobility website Zag: “Before launching in any market we invest time in listening to and addressing local concerns – whether from residents, disability charities, safety groups, and so on.
“It is our belief that real action comes when you bring sceptical experts into the fold – and so we were thrilled to welcome David as an independent member.
“Since then, he has not only been playing an active role in that capacity but Tier has been invited to sit on a PACTS Vehicle Design working group to provide technical guidance on a range of safety issues.”
Also speaking to Zag, David Davies says PACTS is open to learning more about the trials happening in the UK – and is keen to work with more operators to achieve this.
He said: “We accept the trials are happening and although we might have appeared sceptical in the past, we want to learn more.
“We would urge more operators to engage with us.
“It has already been useful to learn from Tier and Bolt about e-scooters from their perspective.
“Our objective is to end up with e-scooter use that is as safe and socially responsible as possible.”
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