'There's no need' and they're a 'blot' say shoppers on Nottingham e-scooters return

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


Nottingham residents and workers are worried that reintroducing e-scooters to the city centre could result in accidents and that the vehicles won’t be stored properly. Nottingham City Council announced on Wednesday (January 22) that a new operator, Dott, had been found to host a network of e-scooters across the city.

An e-scooter hire pilot first launched in October 2020 but the most recent operator, Superpedestrian, closed its operations in the UK in December 2023. All e-scooters were withdrawn from the city’s streets as a result. The new launch has been touted for March this year, but locals are concerned about the move.

Married couple Pete and Pat Westby explained their main concerns centred around the speed of the scooters and the potential harm they could cause to pedestrians, including blind and visually impaired people. This concern is felt by the National Federation of the Blind (NFBUK) which described the reintroduction of e-scooters as a “backwards step for Nottingham”.

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Mr Westby said: “They just go too fast. They need toning down a bit. And when people finish with them, they just get dumped everywhere, rather than being put where they should go. If you’re blind, or anything like that, walking down the road, they could be a problem.

“There’s no need for them, really. People have two legs. We’re just getting lazy, aren’t we? Disabled people have their scooters, so you can’t say they [e-scooters] are for helping the disabled.”

Mrs Westby added: “You can’t hear them as they come up behind you because they are quite quiet. And if you're walking down the road, as we normally do, and you’re looking across at a shop and you can’t hear them coming at a speed, you haven’t got a chance, have you?

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“You’re going to get run into and there’s definitely potential for an injury. That’s my main worry. They should have specific areas they should stick to, like having their own lanes. They shouldn’t be in amongst pedestrians.”

The Department for Transport is working on new laws for e-scooters, but decided to extend all trials for a longer period of time up until May 2026. Dott will now run the scheme in Nottingham, and around 1,300 e-scooters will be made available from 300 parking locations across the city.

Ben Moses, a senior consultant for a recruitment firm, described the move as “negative” for the city and a “blot on the landscape”. The 31-year-old, who works in Nottingham, said: “I do think they’re a bit of a nuisance, especially when they’ve been left randomly when they’ve run out of charge.

“On the flip side, in the sector that I work in, they can provide a source of travel to and from work for individuals. But, overall, they’re a blot on the landscape.”

Mr Moses also pointed out they could potentially be used in an anti-social, or even criminal, way. He continued: “They can be used to taunt and cause a nuisance, especially when you’ve got the young groups riding around on them, especially around the elderly.

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“It’s quite avid at the moment, in and around some of the bigger cities, where people are getting phones stolen from out of their hands from individuals on these e-scooters. I think it’s quite negative for them to be re-introduced back into the city centre.”

Simon Lord, when asked if he would be using them in the future, said: “Oh gosh no! You need an app by all accounts and I wouldn’t have that on my phone.”

The 49-year-old from Nottingham also said he hopes that people put the e-scooters back in their correct places after usage. He continued: “They need to be stored away properly.

“You just find them in the middle of the street rather than being put back in the designated zones. When they’re left in the middle of wherever, somebody else then has to put them back. They do go a bit too fast at times too, but that’s down to the person using them, isn’t it?”

Nottingham City Council's leader, Councillor Neghat Khan, said: "We are thrilled that e-scooters are returning to Nottingham, providing a convenient, sustainable and affordable transport option.

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"By offering an alternative to car journeys, e-scooters will play a key role in easing congestion and lowering harmful emissions in our city. This aligns with our commitment to improving air quality and promoting greener travel for all our residents and visitors."

Dott says it will provide education and training options for first-time riders, including a mandatory quiz before riding, a "beginner mode" which reduces speed for the first three rides and in-person training events.

The e-scooters will be fitted with technology to stop them working outside the city’s boundaries. It will also enable the council to create low-speed or no-go zones.

The e-scooters will have pay-as-you-go pricing at 29p per minute. Pass options will also be available, including a pass costing £2.99 a month to unlock unlimited £2 rides.

It is currently illegal to use e-scooters in public places in the UK, except in designated trial areas such as Nottingham. They must only be ridden on roads and cycle lanes in trial areas and not on pavements. Police have the power to issue £50 fixed penalty notices to anyone caught riding them incorrectly.