Big Issue wardens to tidy up dumped e-scooters

The firm operating Nottingham's latest government-approved e-scooter hire scheme is to recruit wardens from the Big Issue to tidy up dumped vehicles.

French company Dott launched a trial to provide 1,300 e-scooters that people could ride on the city's roads and cycle routes in March.

Under the hiring rules, riders are required to return the scooters to set bays when they have finished using them.

Dott said 10,000 journeys had been made since the scheme was relaunched two weeks ago and that 85% of them ended with scooters being returned to approved locations.

However, the firm told the BBC it formed a partnership with the Big Issue - a social enterprise that provides people in poverty with earning and learning opportunities - in order to try to tackle the problem of scooters being dumped where they should not be.

Under the deal, Dott said it would take on three wardens, hired through the Big Issue, to work with its own staff to find and relocate scooters.

Stuart Greenway, head of Big Issue Recruit, said the partnership in Nottingham followed similar trials elsewhere in the country.

"We did initial pilots in Bristol and Bath - we got amazing reports of how tidy the locations were," he said.

"Our [wardens] go out and find vehicles that are dumped somewhere.

"They look at a location and tidy it up to make sure there are no hazards there.

"Then they rebalance sites to make sure there are enough vehicles there - bikes or scooters - so you can hire one.

"If there are any vehicles which are not charged they will report back and get the batteries changed over.

"They also deal with any repairs and maintenance and report [vehicles] so they can be taken to a warehouse, repaired and put back out at a later date."

Mr Greenway said the wardens would be employed by Dott on rolling 12-month contracts.

He added: "It's a real chance for people to progress. It will help build their skills and confidence.

"Our biggest successes have been where people have been on rolling contracts then been taken on permanently by Dott."

Dott said it already had four rangers who would work with the Big Issue recruits, who are due to take up their posts before the end of April.

The company said its rangers would also help with abandoned scooters that cause obstructions and investigate reports of dangerous riding.

The rangers also swap batteries and assist in enforcement by reporting e-scooter registration numbers, the operator added.

Dott's UK head of public policy Iqbal Ahmed said: "The feedback we have seen from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. We have seen over 10,000 rides and 3,500 active users in the first two weeks.

"There have been some teething issues. There has been a little bit of vandalism. Some people have been moving the scooters out of bays after they have been parked.

"It's usually an attempt to ride them without paying and hack them. This usually goes away when people realise that it is impossible.

"Right now 85% of all our trips end up in the bays where they are supposed to."

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