Slough e-scooter trial to be re-started

An e-scooter trial is to restart after being halted last year.

The scheme involving 300 dockless e-scooters in Slough, Berkshire, ended when the financially-troubled council was unable to renew the contract with operator Neuron Mobility UK.

It was part of a government-led effort to trial sustainable transport methods.

The council announced it would restart with another operator in June as it had proved popular with 20,000 people using the scooters each month.

The bright orange e-scooters, which were provided by Neuron, were seen zipping around Slough from April 2020.

The trial was to encourage alternative methods of transport for short distances rather than private cars.

However residents raised concerns about obstructions caused by badly parked e-scooters on pavements and reported "dangerous" driving from riders.

Mohammed Nazir, lead member for transport on the Labour-run Slough Borough Council, said in November that the contract with Neuron was coming to an end which meant the council was unable to extend it without opening it up to tender.

He told a cabinet meeting earlier this week that the trial would resume in June with another provider and also incorporating bike hire.

Council leader James Swindlehurst admitted people "dislike the street clutter" of e-scooters being left around in the roads.

He said: "As part of the new procurement we can find a better way to handle some of the hire vehicles when they are finished with and particularly with the merger of the e-bikes and e-scooters, we might be able to get better docking arrangements in."

Neuron recorded 60 rider-only accidents and slight injuries, one moderate injury, and one severe.

There was also one fatality in the borough, which involved an 18-year-old boy who fell off the council-leased e-scooter on June 11, 2022.

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