New data released by Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that out of 2.5 million trips taken by rental e-scooter between June 2021 and November 2022, 93.5 percent would have otherwise been taken by walking, cycling or public transport. Figures also showed that while just 6.5 percent of the e-scooter trips would have been made by car or taxi/private hire vehicles, 32 percent of users combined their e-scooter journeys with public transport and over 249 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved.
The report states that “the majority” of the 2.5 million trips would have otherwise been made by walking and cycling, but a spokesperson for TfL said a more detailed breakdown of the 93.5 percent figure was not available. “Every e-scooter journey is combined with walking and often public transport,” they added.
Helen Sharp, TfL’s e-scooter trial lead, said the agency is working closely with operators, councils and people across London to build on plans for the next phase of the trial. “We hope Londoners and visitors can continue to benefit from the trial and we will continue to use its data to learn more about the role e-scooters could play in helping people move around London sustainably,” she commented.
Active travel
Speaking to Cities Today, James Cleeton, London Director of active travel charity Sustrans, said the results showed the need for local authorities to prioritise active travel.
“It is encouraging to see the potential for e-scooters to cut congestion, improve air quality and be used as part of the transport mix. But with thousands of Londoners not getting enough daily physical activity, it is concerning to see the majority of e-scooter journeys, which have no physical activity benefits, are replacing journeys on foot or by bike. So, we must continue to work with local authorities to prioritise measures that help more of us to safely walk, wheel and cycle our journeys.”
Other findings
Rental e-scooters are the only way to legally ride an e-scooter on public roads or in other public places in the UK. Since the launch in June 2021, the London trials have expanded, with ten boroughs now participating and over 5,000 e-scooters available for hire. The report found that the average e-scooter journey time was 17 minutes, while the average distance travelled was 2.5 kilometres.
“This suggests that the majority of riders are using e-scooters for short trips, perhaps for the ‘last mile’ of their journey to or from a rail/tube station or bus stop,” a spokesperson for transport watchdog London TravelWatch said.
Fewer than 0.01 percent of trips resulted in serious injury. There have been no fatalities and 22 serious injuries reported by the three operators – Dott, Lime and TIER. The three firms have also reported that during the first phase of the trial, more than 95 percent of trips complied with rules around parking.
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I wonder whether the CO2 saved was net of the embedded carbon in the scooters.
And saying that less than 0.01% of trips resulted in a serious injury isn’t all that good in my view. That’s less than 1 in 10,000. I suspect that the equivalent for bus or train is several orders of magnitude better.
What I think TfL is not quite admitting is that a small but significant number of trips are placing PAYG trips by bus or tube (or Santander Cycle), and thus is a revenue loss to TfL.
And while there have not been any reported fatalities (although 22 serious injuries is a bit worrying–but not cross referenced to cycling per km for comparison) there is a wider perception of danger to pedestrians in scooter trial areas (and amongst certain demographics), due to “pavement riding”, and that is slightly decreasing active travel in those areas/groups
Linkage to official reports
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-evaluation-of-e-scooter-trials-report
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/london-e-scooter-rental-trial-interim-findings-acc.pdf
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/electric-scooter-rental-trial
1 in 10,000 strikes me as being quite high tbh.
What is the equivalant figure for car trips? (where the injured party doesn’t have to be the one in the vehicle)