Southampton electric scooter scheme to be extended to May 2026

Electric scooters will be staying on the roads in Southampton for another two-and-a-half years.

Southampton City Council is one of the participating authorities in the nationwide scheme.

It is run by the Department for Transport (DfT) which has extended its end date from May this year until May 2026.

Southampton will need to vote through its own vehicle special orders (VSO) to follow suit.

Since the scheme was first introduced in the city in March 2021 the council said there had been more than 1.5 million rides, which it claimed had saved 340 tonnes of CO2.

The authority added 42% of respondents of a survey carried out in autumn 2022, who had used an e-scooter, said if they were not available they would have used a private vehicle.

However, concerns listed in a council report, include the "perception that rental e-scooters could be detrimental to community safety; such as litter dropping or congregating at parking areas" and "that users will ride on pavements, at speed and otherwise inappropriately".

The council's cabinet is expected to vote in the VSO extension on Tuesday, and will also need to extend its contract with Voi, the e-scooter supplier, before the contract ends in May 2024.

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