E-Scooters in London’s West End from August - but not for hire on Oxford Street

E-scooters will be allowed in the West End from next month – but riders will not be able to hire or park them in Oxford Street or Regent Street.

Westminster council has confirmed it will join Transport for London’s year-long trial of rental e-scooters from August 2.

The Tory borough was not part of the first two waves of the scheme, which launched last month in Canary Wharf and four west London boroughs - Richmond, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea.

Earlier this month the City of London and Lambeth joined the scheme. The scooters, which are battery-powered and can reach speeds of 12.5mph, can also be used in the “ride through” boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Southwark.

A Westminster spokesman confirmed there would be no scooter bays in the two main shopping streets of Oxford Street and Regent Street but said they would be available for hire in nearby locations such as Soho Square, Newman Street, Stratford Place and Great Marlborough Street.

The scooters will also be available in about 80 locations in Westminster including Trafalgar Square, Exhibition Road and Grosvenor Square.

Three private firms - Lime, Dott and Tier – are taking part in the Government-backed trial. The scooters cost between £3.25 and £3.40 for a 15-minute ride. Privately owned e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads.

Melvyn Caplan, Westminster’s deputy leader, said: “Westminster City Council has worked hard over recent months to identify suitable parking locations for this scheme, and we have monitored the roll-out in other boroughs to ensure that the trial in Westminster can operate as smoothly and safely as possible.

“The safety of residents and visitors to the city will remain our top priority throughout this process and we will work closely with providers to ensure that users comply with the rules.”

Read More

‘Increasingly hostile incidents’ target London vaccine workers

Brian May shares images of ‘devastation’ in his flooded London home

‘It’s a tragedy’: Londoners count the cost after ‘biblical’ floods