It’s been two years since many towns and cities up and down the country were met with a new two wheeled addition to their transport mix - the e-scooter. It is fair to say that from then on, e-scooters have been controversial in the blind and partially sighted community with many voicing understandable anxiety about parking and pavement riding.
Given the huge challenge of combatting climate change, many councils across the country have implemented trials. Although evaluations are still underway, there appear to be clear environmental benefits from e-scooters. These include replacing car journeys, improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions. This is also why the government has offered the opportunity to further extend the trials to 2024 and is reportedly considering full-scale legalisation of e-scooters.
As with any new technology, it’s only right that we challenge and question its introduction. Thomas Pocklington Trust works closely with blind and partially sighted people and our local Sight Loss Councils to hold decision makers to account and campaign for improvements. We take the view that e-scooters are here to stay and there is much to be gained by working constructively with councils, operators and riders, rather than just calling for them to be removed from our streets.
After all, not all e-scooters are created equal. Private e-scooters for example, have no speed restrictions, don’t benefit from a host of regulations enforcing larger wheel size, always-on lights, and are not as brightly coloured. Whereas rental e-scooters, such as those provided in council backed trials, have important safety features such as geofencing to prevent them from being ridden and parked in pedestrianised areas as well as the power to ban irresponsible riders.
As a charity which supports blind and partially sighted people, we want their experiences to be forefront in the minds of operators and riders. Take the work we have done in conjunction with local councils, e-scooter operator Neuron, and our Tyne and Wear Sight Loss Council. As part of the ‘ScootSafe’ safety awareness campaigns, we have used tools such as simulation spectacles which recreate typical visual impairments to give people a better understanding of how it feels to be a blind or partially sighted person interacting with e-scooters and navigating a city with lots of fast moving vehicles.
We really value proactive engagement from local authorities to educate the public about these issues. If we are to continue maximising the potential that e-scooters have to offer, councils need to ensure they mitigate impacts on the visually impaired and all pedestrians. It is therefore essential that leaders in local government join our side and take an active role in delivering a unified message on the importance of responsible riding. Where possible, councils must ensure operators engage with all road users to ensure accessibility is built into e-scooter schemes from the outset and throughout. Where councils are extending their trials through to 2024, they should be looking again at the operating model in place and challenging operators to do more to improve safety and promote good rider behaviours around safe use and parking.
As with many issues faced by visually impaired people, the key often lies in constructive engagement and education. When it comes to e-scooters and micro mobility, Thomas Pocklington Trust will continue to pursue these avenues with local authorities, for the interests of all who are visually impaired.
Mike Bell is head of public affairs and campaigns at Thomas Pocklington Trust
