London,
31
January
2022
|
07:57
Europe/London

London e-scooter hire now available across all of Camden

A rental e-scooter trial launched by TfL and London Councils has now been extended across the whole of Camden.

From Monday 31 January, residents and visitors in Hampstead, Highgate, Kilburn, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Fortune Green and Frognal & Fitzjohns will now also be able to rent the electric powered scooters for their journeys within the borough, following the initial introduction of the scheme in other parts of Camden in September 2021.

The aim of the trial is to provide an alternative option to public transport and taxis, as well as helping to reduce the number of short local journeys made by private cars.

Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet member for a Sustainable Camden

“The Covid-19 pandemic changed how communities in Camden live, travel and work.

“We want our streets to have more space for everyone to walk and cycle, for you to be breathing cleaner air, for children to get to and from school safely and for businesses to be able to flourish.

“Up to date monitoring data shows that the existing e-scooters have been well used in Camden.

“Since the beginning of the trial at the end of September 2021, there have been over 100,000 hired e-scooter trips – averaging out to just under 900 per day. This puts Camden second only to Westminster as the London borough with the highest e-scooter usage.

“We have successfully managed e-scooter parking through our network of parking bays, which with this expansion now total almost 200 across the Borough keeping the pavements free for pedestrians. Because of this any significant concerns over anti-social parking have not materialised, with parking compliance above 90%.”

Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet member for a Sustainable Camden

The trial has enabled the public to hire free standing e-scooters, available for use on the road only across the borough, in a similar way to the dockless hire bikes already provided in Camden. At the end of each journey the e-scooter is required to be left within a designated parking bay.

Councillor Harrison continued:

“Feedback from the public during the trial is important to us, which is why we have set up a commonplace page on our Safer Travel in Camden site https://safetravelcamden.commonplace.is/proposals/electric-hire-scooter-trial to enable people to continue to feedback and provide comment during the trial.

“We will also use all feedback we receive during the trial to help inform our next steps, and to help decide whether to continue beyond the trial period with e-scooters in the borough.”

The further operation of e-scooters in the borough following the trial will also depend on national guidance from the Department of Transport.

  • You can read more about the trial, consultation and plans for the operation of rental e-scooters here.
  • The London rental e-scooter trial commenced on 7 June 2021, and currently 9 boroughs and the City of London are taking part. Camden joined the e-scooter trial on September 27 2021.
  • There are three rental e-scooter operators taking part in the trial - Lime, Tier and Dott. Each operator has its own fleet of e-scooters branded in their own distinct livery and each e-scooter carries a unique fleet number. Each operator also has their own mobile phone app through which users can book a rental e-scooter. Users are required to at least have a provisional driving licence and also provide payment details through a bank.
  • There are several differences between the e-scooters involved in the trial and those that are privately owned, and how they operate. The trial e-scooters are only be able to operate on the road and are limited to 12.5 mph. GPS technology on each e-scooter enables the speed to be managed remotely.
  • The council can designate GPS controlled go-slow zones, including market streets and all Healthy School Streets, where e-scooters have a maximum speed of 8mph, the council can also designate no-go zones that automatically prevent access to those areas.