Labour has announced plans to conduct a second evaluation of e-scooter trials across the UK, with results expected in May 2026.
Transport Minister Lord Hendy revealed the decision during a House of Lords session yesterday, explaining that while an initial evaluation took place in 2021 with results published in 2022, the previous Government failed to take further action.
"As travel patterns have continued to change, the Government has decided to undertake a second evaluation," Hendy stated.
The new assessment, due to begin this spring, aims to "collect up-to-date and robust evidence on safety, mode shift and usage to inform future legislation."
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A Transport Minister confirmed a review on e-scooters will take place this Spring
GETTYThe scale of illegal e-scooter use in Britain was highlighted by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, who questioned how many evaluations were actually needed.
"There are 1.2 million e-scooters currently illegally used in general circulation, and 47 people have been killed since 2019. The status quo cannot continue," she told the Lords.
The Conservative peer expressed particular concern about riders "mounting pavements at speed, terrorising pedestrians".
She urged the Government to ensure that if the current ban on illegally operated scooters is not enforced, they should "introduce a regulatory framework with proper insurance" to avoid draining resources from the Motor Insurance Bureau.
Safety concerns around e-scooters have extended beyond reckless riding, with battery fires emerging as a significant hazard, MPs warned.
Labour peer Lord Berkeley highlighted this issue, asking whether it was "more important to have some proper standards of the quality and the way that batteries are fixed to cycles and scooters".
Hendy acknowledged these dangers, referencing the Department for Business and Trade's "Buy Safe Be Safe" campaign launched last October, which aims to raise awareness about unsafe e-bikes, e-scooters and batteries.
The minister cited a recent incident at Rayners Lane Station, noting that "anybody who was standing remotely near that incident would have been very severely injured if not killed by the spontaneous explosion and subsequent fire."
But Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Pidgeon questioned the nature of the ongoing trials, which began rolling out across the UK on July 4, 2020.
She asked: "What is the minister's definition of a trial? Or is this, in reality, the legalisation of e-scooters by the back door?"
But Hendy firmly rejected this characterisation and instead told the House that "it certainly isn't the legalisation by the back door."
However, Conservative Lord Moylan criticised the extended timeline, suggesting the Government was "letting it drift until May 2026" with legislation potentially not arriving until 2027, possibly after another general election.
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TfL has banned all e-scooters and e-bikes on its travel network following reports of fire hazards
PAThe impact on vulnerable pedestrians was emphasised by several peers, with particular concern for disabled people. Baroness Brinton highlighted specific accessibility issues, noting that at Old Kingsway, "it is now almost impossible to get access to the bus stop, not just if you're in a wheelchair or with a guide dog, but a passenger as well".
She described seeing "sometimes as many as a hundred" poorly parked vehicles blocking access. Hendy suggested local authorities should better control hire schemes to ensure proper parking and collection.
