A two-year trial for e-scooter hire has been approved by Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet.
About 400 e-scooters will be added to the existing bike hire company Beryl BTN’s fleet as soon as next summer.
At the meeting on Thursday (23 April), Labour councillor Trevor Muten said that Brighton and Hove already had a positive track record working with Beryl with “strong uptake” of e-bikes among residents who had not considered cycling before.
Councillor Muten, the cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, said: “This proposal builds directly on that proven foundation.
“It does not introduce a new operator, a new contract or an untested delivery model. It extends an established scheme, with known technology and clear accountability.
“We should also be clear about context. E‑scooters are already being used illegally across the city.
“Doing nothing leaves us with no insurance, no licence checks, no enforcement tools and no control.
“A regulated trial allows us to manage use properly – or to conclude, with evidence, that it is not appropriate for Brighton and Hove.”
Private e-scooters are illegal to ride on public roads but the council has permission for the trial from the Department for Transport.
A public consultation ran last November and December when 1,293 responsed.
There was strong support for technology to detect illegal passengers, pavement riding and for sound alerts which has resulted in all scooters being equipped with horns.
There was broad support for 24-hour availability and time no-go zones or go-slow zones where scooter speed would be 6.5 miles per hour rather than 12mph.
No-go zones would include Hove Prom, the lower prom, the Madeira Drive boardwalk, The Level crosswalks, the undercliff, all skate parks and pump tracks.
Labour councillor Jacob Allen, the council’s cabinet member for customer service and the public realm, welcomed the plans to dock all the e-scooters.
Councillor Allen said that in the City of London he had seen “the corner of every street … littered with e-scooters”.
He welcomed most of the “no-go zones”, including Cranbourne Street and Lewes Road north of Saunders Park and the bus garage.
He said: “I like how it includes provision for temporary no-go zones, for example, when Pride is on, St James’s Street should be a no-go zone for e-scooters, as should areas around Preston Park.
“Giving us that flexibility is also really important.”
Councillor Allen said that the public wanted the undercliff taken off the list of no-go zones and noted divided opinions. He asked about the review process.
Councillor Muten said that there were concerns about speed, particularly with cyclists and pinch-points along the undercliff, between the Marina and Saltdean, but he would work with ward councillors to find a solution.
The Labour leader of the council Belle Sankey said that the trial was a step towards cleaner travel choices.
Councillor Sankey said: “This trial can ensure that we approach e-scooters in a sensible, regulated and managed way while seeking to improve air quality across the city, reduce congestion and enable residents to move around more easily and more quickly.
“We are a forward-looking city and we must always look to embrace new modes of transport that meet our residents’ objectives.”
E-scooters will only be available for hire by people aged 17 and over with at least a provisional driving licence.
This Council never listens to what the people of Brighton and Hove want or their concerns! They have a completley diffferernt vision to how the would like the city to be. Is this why they created that abortion of a bad idea, Valley Gardens phase 3, in order to give E Scooters and Cyclists more pavement space to ride on whilst the motrists of this city sit in a half hour traffic jam just to get from Rock Place to Sealife!
Over 1000 repsonses, with broad support. They are doing exactly what people want, with good safety restrictions in place.
In theory you mean, in reality more clowns on the road who have no intention of staying in THEIR LANES
On that point, I’m wondering if the speed restriction, slower than a cycle, will encourage more dangerous overtaking?
More than likely Benjamin, it seems a large number of clowns ingore the rules and guidelines because it carries no consequence, ebikes, scooters, cyclists and cars many take whatever path is open any lane any time. Cars etc have registrations and registered to someone somewhere, still doesn’t stop the chaos pilots.
On that point, do you think having number plates on the scooters will help? Personally, I think without them people would certainly do what you say!
You must work for them!
You must be a clown in a travelling circus mate!
1,293 responses with broad support doesn’t mean anything in the scheme of things.
Like everything else, BHCC will do whatever they want regardless.
Interestingly, when surveys are put out, they word them so there’s no real choice. For example, a survey came through about parking permits, it didn’t indicated if you wanted a scheme only what type of scheme.
The result, ‘we’ve had a high number of residents supporting the scheme’ when in many cases, that isn’t factually true.
Various schemes have been tried already in other Towns and cities and already some have not continued with their schemes for various reasons.
You make a good point. I really dislike the word consultation because it implies co-design, when the reality is more often than not, once it’s reached this stage, as you say, this decision has already been made, but really it’s choosing which colour we paint the final product in.
But then again, if everything were done via committee, we’d end up never getting anything done. I’m reminded of this sketch. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/icHvxp9abWo
Also, that short distance you mention could easily be done by bus in the new bus lane without a queue, or scooter, exactly that they’re designed for. To replace short unnecessary car trips.
Perhaps that is the reason for e-scooters. To remove all the traffic and allow you to have a clear run on the roads…?
Things are going to change and there seem to be some restrictions planned; over 17 with provisional driving licence, no-go areas, scooters to be docked, speed restricted, etc., but how is any of that to be enforced, especially as we have a lot of privately owned e-scooters doing whatever they please already.
I was on a bus recently going up Braybon Avenue when an e-scooter overtook the bus, narrowly missing a van coming down the hill – you can’t say that scooter was speed restricted or possibly legal. I could see the van driver looked absolutely shocked to find a scooter in the middle of the road. The rider (driver?) was not wearing a helmet or protective clothes and had over-ear headphones on.
I’m assuming they will use GPS to enforce the no go zones, with the council managing the virtual ‘map’. Together with the need to have a provisional license it could work. I hope so. As you say it’s the minority of cretins on private scooters that are a problem.
From what I was reading, exactly that. Combined with having number plates and a reporting system that users a strike system on registered user tied to their identification. It seems like a good set of safeguards.
I think it was also Manchester that was also running an escooter trial as well? Makes sense to take lessons learnt from that too.
6mph is my fast walking speed. Why 6.5? Call it 7. How accurate is GPS tracking?
Because it’s half the top speed of 13mph. GPS tracking can be very accurate. Take a satnav for example.
Another absolute disaster of the Councils making, waiting to happen.
What a useless Council this is, and dangerous as well.
Councillors who approved this are so naive.Laws will be broken with speeding,red traffic lights ignored,scooters dumped on pavements.People will always have cars.That is a definate.How about make life a lot better for poor downtrodden motorists.
But there are methods in place to make people accountable for all of those elements. You don’t think that will deter people?
Good for homeless people on drugs to Nick and use
This is a nice forward thinking idea ! However, in the real world where most of us live, if the Council or Police can’t control the use of bicycles on pavements with no horns or bells not to mention the speed they travel at !
How on Earth do they intend to control the E’Scooters ??
The times I have been out walking that I have encountered cyclists who quite frankly don’t give a care in the world is too many to mention. They, let the good cyclist get tarnished with the same brush.
No, as with bins being emptied, potholes, pavements plus much more not being sorted add this to the pile !
Council it’s not all about being seen to do , it’s about doing things right first !!!
Escooters can be speed limited and are identified by number plates, linked into accounts registered with ID, so there’s a big advantage there.
So electric scooters are illegal, but if you pay a private company, and the, council, government some money, some tax and vat, suddenly they become legal 🤔 🙄
Unregulated vs regulated.
As if the Royal Sussex County Hospitals A&E department don’t have enough to deal with. Then the council approve this… unbelievable.
The council is rotten to the core and only care about pleasing the minority over the majority of people whose live, work and drive in the city.
However the students, visitors, cyclists, Boris bike bike hirers and e-scooter riders just do as they please… as will the e-scooter hire too!
The gift that keeps on giving this.. but the ones who makes these decisions in the council, would rather be an ostrich, burying in the head as deep in the sand as possible, than hear, listen and implement what the people of this city actually would like money spent on and what they would like to see done to make the city better, not worse…
Brighton & Hove City Council must rate pretty high up the table in the country as a council. For implementing things that the majority of us say and don’t want.
But somehow still keep getting away with it!
Decades of unfettered greedy boomerism are coming to an end.
Not a single word about finances. Not one.
This is a scandal in itself.
How can any project be allowed to happen without a robust business plan?
The Deputy Council leader, the one in charge of the council budget, was in the room. Like a spare dinner.
For all the strangely euphoric willy-waving on the part of Cllr Muten, E-scooters are a limited mode of transport for a limited market. Users have to be over 18, they can’t ride them on pavements, they will be limited to 15mph, The Police are going to Police them, not the Council. They are not inclusive. they are not all-weather, they don’t carry more than one person and certainly no shopping or tools. No use for family transport, disabled, elderly, small children and many with health conditions and yet somehow they are meant to replace car journeys?
What planet are these councillors on?
Of course there will be accidents clogging up an already overflowing A and E, e-scooters abandoned on street corners,selfish yobs trying to use them on footpaths and in shopping centres. This scheme will cause so much more trouble than it is worth.
Meantime the council have no money to look after the seafront. Something which does actually earn the city real money when looked after.
Not a single word about finances. Not one.
This is a scandal in itself.
How can any project be allowed to happen without a robust business plan?
The Deputy Council leader, the one in charge of the council budget, was in the room. Like a spare dinner.
For all the strangely euphoric willy-waving on the part of Cllr Muten, E-scooters are a limited mode of transport for a limited market. Users have to be over 18, they can’t ride them on pavements, they will be limited to 15mph, The Police are going to Police them, not the Council. They are not inclusive. they are not all-weather, they don’t carry more than one person and certainly no shopping or tools. No use for family transport, disabled, elderly, small children and many with health conditions and yet somehow they are meant to replace car journeys?
What planet are these councillors on?
Of course there will be accidents clogging up an already overflowing A and E, e-scooters abandoned on street corners,selfish yobs trying to use them on footpaths and in shopping centres. This scheme will cause so much more trouble and cost than it is worth.
Meantime the council have no money to look after the seafront. Something which does actually earn the city real money when looked after.
In the initial council meeting when this trial was accepted, there was a report on the figures and business plan.
With Muten involved what could go wrong 🤣
My wife had her shin cut open by a ‘scooter’. The platform that the rider stands on protrudes too far in my opinion. The rider in this case didn’t realise the damage he had caused as he rode off into the distance. Also my Wife didn’t realise in the first instance that she had been cut.
It’s strange how we live in a country so over-zealous about health and safety in some respects and so careless about health and safety in others. E-Scooters are already a proven menace, particularly on a crowded seafront on a sunny day, when they are most likely to be hired in force. A friend made a good point when she said she wouldn’t bother with an E-Scooter if she could hire an E-bike. Ie what is the point of bothering with anything less than an E-bike? So what is the actual point Cllr Muten??? Plus e-bikes have greater legality. How much of our money are you wasting on this?
Cheaper, more efficient to run, easier to handle, are a few reasons I would say, off the top of my head.
Councillor Muten, I presume? Thank you. But they are still a public menace and will be out in force, the same as pedestrians and cyclists will be, on any sunny day so public health and safety is not being prioritised.
That’s a new one. 🙄
Bad actors are always going to be about. They are already around, and the introduction of a trial isn’t going to change that.
At least the ones on the trial have mitigations in place so there are consequences.
these scooters with the restrictions mentioned in place sounds like a relatively good idea….IF the police take all the illegal scooters off the street!!! BIG CAVEAT!
Ben jam in
I hear you mate and I’m actually kinda with you on the idea… but you’re talking like the whole city’s gonna behave itself just because there’s a bit of GPS and a number plate slapped on it 😂
I ride scooters round Brighton all the time and I love ‘em — when it works, it’s mint. Quick down Lewes Road, no faffing with traffic, job done. But let’s be real, half the lads on them now don’t even know what a “no-go zone” is, never mind sticking to it.
“Strike systems” and “tracking maps” sound proper tidy on paper, but in real life someone’s gonna bin one outside a kebab shop on West Street and the system’s gonna think it’s still cruising up Marine Parade.
I’m not anti-scooter at all — I just reckon Brighton’s gonna test this thing to its absolute limits within about 5 minutes of summer sun hitting the seafront 😅
Let’s see how it goes though… I’ll still be out on mine either way 👍