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West Northants e-scooter review 'disappointing' - Labour

West Northamptonshire Council A man and a woman, wearing helmets, ride scooters up Abington Street from the Market SquareWest Northamptonshire Council
A total of 610 people who responded to the survey said they used the scooters

Opposition politicians have described a review into an e-scooter trial as "deeply disappointing".

The Labour group on West Northants Council said it was conducted too quickly and "doesn't reflect the strength of feeling on the issue".

The group said the WNC leader should not have been described as an expert just because he uses the scooters.

The council said the scooters were an "affordable and sustainable travel option".

People in Northampton have been able to hire two-wheeled electric scooters since the beginning of a trial project in 2020.

The scheme was expanded to Moulton and Collingtree last August.

Orange scooters in a rack in the street
People have been able to hire orange electric scooters in Northampton since 2020

West Northamptonshire Council's Scrutiny Committee started assessing the effectiveness of the scooters at the end of last year and asked people to submit their views.

A total of 2663 people took part in the consultation, of whom 610 said they used the scooters, and the findings were presented to the Scrutiny Committee last week

Among the suggestions made in the report were:

  • A review of speed controls and restricted areas
  • Use technology to stop people riding on one scooter, and driving on the pavement
  • Improve visibility at night.
Labour Woman with medium-length brown hair wearing a grey jacketLabour
Labour's Emma Roberts called for a full public consultation at the end of the current trial

Emma Roberts, of the WNC Labour Group, said that the review was carried out in six weeks, which was "nowhere near enough time to collect and analyse the evidence and advice we received".

She added that the "hurried execution" of the review also led to "troubling discrepancies", such as the Conservative leader of the council, Jonathan Nunn, addressing the panel as "an expert, just because he uses e-scooters in his personal life".

Ms Roberts said there was not enough evidence to support the report's conclusion that the trial should continue, despite more than one in six respondents saying they wanted it stopped.

e-scooters
The e-scooters in Northampton are operated by the brand Voi

Alison Eastwood, vice-chairman of WNC's place scrutiny committee, said: "The scheme provides an affordable and sustainable travel option for people across West Northamptonshire to enable them to get to and from work, education and enjoying local services.

"I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the survey.

"We will now work with VOI [e-scooter operator] to create a road map on how we can deliver these recommendations for the local community."

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