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New trial to allow legal e-scooter use within city

Simon Ward
BBC News, Nottingham
BBC A woman is preparing to try out one of two blue electric scooters which are parked in an official parking place for scooters outside Nottingham CastleBBC
The trial will mean people can hire e-scooters and ride them on roads and cycle routes within the Nottingham city boundary

A new government-approved trial means people will be able to hire e-scooters and ride them legally in the city boundaries of Nottingham.

The trial, run by French-based company Dott, will begin on Wednesday and comprises 1,300 e-scooters, which people can ride on roads and cycle routes.

A previous trial in the city ran from October 2020 until December 2023, when provider Superpedestrian shut down its UK operations.

It is illegal to ride privately-owned e-scooters on roads and pavements, and Dott has warned riders could be fined or banned for improper use of the ones that are part of the scheme.

Tim Caswell from the company called Dott which is running the electric scooter scheme in Nottingham is standing near to the statue of Robin Hood outside Nottingham Castle where there is also one of the parking areas for scooters.
Tim Caswell, city development lead at Dott, says 1,300 e-scooters will be available in Nottingham

While anyone can buy their own e-scooter, they can only be used on private land as the law currently stands.

A Dott spokesperson said its contract with Nottingham City Council would be initially until August 2028, contingent on the Department for Transport extending the trial beyond spring 2026.

Tim Caswell, city development lead at Dott, said: "You do need to verify your ID and be over 18 to use the e-scooters.

"Once you're signed up to the app, then you can hire any scooter 24 hours a day from any of our parking zones, ride it and leave it at any other parking zone."

Nottingham City Councillor Sam Lux is pictured smiling outside Nottingham Castle. She has long blond hair and is wearing a grey coat.
Councillor Sam Lux says she supports the new e-scooter trial

Councillor Sam Lux is responsible for carbon reduction, leisure and culture at the city council.

She says she is hopeful the new trial will build on the scheme that ran before.

"In our previous trial we actually saw 3,000 rides a day on average and 20,000 distinct users a month, so we're expecting at least that level of popularity if not even more," Lux said.

In relation to concerns about the dangerous riding of e-scooters, Lux said: "We have to make sure we can solve some of the problems our residents are worried about to do with safety and enforcement and parking, but I think we're on the way to doing that."

A blue e-scooter operated by the company Dott shown near Nottingham Castle.
The e-scooters will only work within the Nottingham city boundary

Mr Caswell added a fine could be given to those who abandoned the scooters and that Dott could ban users if necessary.

All of the e-scooters will have unique numbers that will allow people to report irresponsible use, such as riding them on the pavement.

The system that tracks the e-scooters will stop the battery power if they are ridden outside the city boundary.

The cost to hire them is 29p a minute, but other discounts and bundle prices will be available.

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