Are e-scooters part of a greener transport future or a menace?

In my mind, I’m at a Marty McFly level of cool, riding an electric scooter and sporting Nike Air trainers, zipping around a quiet private village cul-de-sac with the wind in my safety helmet as I hit a rip-roaring 15.5mph.

‘You look like Phil Dunphy,’ – the uncool dad from US TV sitcom Modern Family – was the verdict of my bemused mother-in-law as I stepped off one of the latest must-have gadgets.

‘I’d say a non-menacing police officer from a dystopian future,’ was the quip from my father-in-law.  

Whichever one this odd trio I was, I had great fun riding around and getting to grips with the two-wheeled wonder that first day.

E-scooters have been a popular lockdown buy for bored Britons. Sales were already up annually by nearly 100 per cent at the start of the year – and interest in them has surged since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

They are an alternative to buses, trains, trams and tubes – a way to travel without needing a mask and the fear of someone coughing in close quarters. 

But they’re not without controversy, not just here in the UK – where they are not legal to use on the roads – but also around the world in places where the law permits them, due to how many accidents they are involved in.

Many countries have embraced an e-scooter rental revolution.  

‘Congratulations,’ said boss Simon Lambert when I told him of my successful first voyage on the device. 

This was followed by some Googling and the exclamation: ‘Here you go, I read a stat in the Economist that one in three people who used them in the city of Austin, Texas, had some sort of crash the first time they use them.’

I’m glad he told me this afterwards, especially as he isn’t exactly the world’s most cautious person, so a comment on e-scooters being dangerous says something.

However, in my opinion, unless you are completely careless, the scooter I had – the best selling Xiaomi M365 – was sturdy and easy handle right away. 

If used on a road (if they become legal) you need to be aware of your surroundings, wear a helmet and be relatively cautious: unfortunately, not everybody is sensible like that. 

The speed it can go is capped at 15.5mph and the thick tyres gave me confidence over bumps.  

In terms of legality in the UK, it’s a black and white but grey area.

Officially, they are illegal on the roads, but anyone who spends much time in London will see plenty zipping about. 

The police have occasionally staged a crackdown but largely turned a blind eye to London’s e-scooter commuters.

Now there are fast-tracked trials happening that will be announced later this month by the Government, thanks to both scooters’ green credentials and lockdown meaning new ways of getting around are needed.

It could result in a legal and regulatory framework that means they can be lawfully used on UK roads. But it appears this might be only for rental schemes – not private use. 

Currently, police have the power to dish out fines and even stick six points on your driving licence if you ride one on the road. 

However, as mentioned previously, given the amount of people I’ve seen flouting the rules, it’s not entirely clear how many are being stopped on them – especially outside of busy cities.  

Can e-scooters be a good way to get around for a greener future? And will sales continue to surge. Consumer Trends takes a look. 

Sales surge in lockdown

Online marketplace eBay said sales have surged during lockdown. In March, they were up 38 per annually. This increased to 109 per cent in April and 164 per cent in May as Britons went mad for the gadgets.

It adds that April sales were up 134 per cent versus March, and e-scooter sales overall are up 83 per cent year-to-date.

Graham Stapleton, chief executive of Halfords, tells me: ‘There is undeniable consumer demand for e-scooters.’

The retailer had already seen sales of e-mobility products – including electric bikes and scooters – increase by 96 per cent annually in the 14 weeks to 3 January. 

It is likely this has increased further, with more people looking for ways to travel around and spend potential lockdown savings they’ve made from not commuting or cancelled holidays.

Halfords says 47 per cent of e-scooters are bought by customers under 35 years old, while 38 per cent of sales are from those aged between 35-55 and 14 per cent are bought by customers aged over 55 years.

Meanwhile, the trend is visible on social media – plenty of friends, and friends of friends appear to have picked one up in the last few months. 

Out of the box and… go!

The Chinese-made Xiaomi M365 retails at £469 at Halfords – a mid-range price for an e-scooter. 

I set up the scooter within five minutes with an allen key provided in the box. 

It was far easier than my daughter’s Little Tikes car I was tasked with building earlier in lockdown.

It charged within a few hours and folding it up is a breeze too. So far, so good. 

I have taken it out a dozen times while testing and the battery life seems decent. In the information pack it comes with, it says it has an 18 mile range.

Like cars though, I’d take this kind of mileage with a pinch of salt – to get this figure, it says in the information booklet it was tested with someone weighing 75kg (11st 8oz), at 25 degrees, with no breeze, on a flat asphalt pavement. 

I’ll start with the good. It can get some impressive speeds on flat surfaces or downhill. 

As mentioned before the tyres give you confidence up curbs and I can easily see how you could shave time off a short commute with it.

I calculate that it would take two minutes for me to get to the local train station, thus saving me around 12 minutes a day – or an hour per week, once I begin commuting back to the office again. 

Onto the average: It struggles a little uphill and requires a few manual pushes to get you going up them, you have to keep your thumb on the accelerator which can make it ache after a while and it’s slightly on the heavy side.

At 14kg, I’m not sure how easy it would be to lug around.

Additionally, it is not clear how easy it would be to replace the battery, which gives me some eco-friendly concerns, while any replacement tyres – you get two in the box – are probably best fitted by Halfords.

It offers a service for £30 – this gives users unlimited puncture repair, brake and gear adjustment and also an annual service. 

The e-scooter has a two-year warranty. 

It’s worth pointing out in terms of the speed uphill – I am towards the upper limit of the recommended weight to use this thing, 100kg – or 15-and-a-half stone. 

The lighter you are, the better it’ll work. 

Nothing quite like being fat-shamed by your e-scooter after developing a lockdown paunch.

Also, people do look at you like you’re a bit mad. Although, after a while you feel a little less self-conscious. 

I was especially bemused by a couple of teenagers who appeared and asked if they could film me for a TikTok video – not, I fear because of my coolness, but because I looked like the Essex Phil Dunphy. 

Will they become legal on UK roads? 

Graham Stapleton, says: ‘Many people want the UK laws to catch up with the rest of the world and want to exercise the same rights and freedoms that road users enjoy in most European countries, as well as places such as Queensland in Australia and in New Zealand, where the laws of the road closely match those of the UK. 

‘The current crisis means the public are suffering unprecedented peacetime restrictions on travel for commuting and e-scooters could provide an alternative solution.

‘We welcome the news of a forthcoming Government announcement on the fast tracking of e-scooter trials which are coming soon and think if this is true it will go some way to setting a legal and regulatory framework that means they will be lawfully used on our roads.’

He points to research that found three in five people supported Greater Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Chris Boardman’s call for an e-scooters trial in Manchester, to see what framework of usage works best.

He adds: ‘Any new regulations should deliver safer roads, and ensure that road users behave responsibly and with due care and attention, but the current blanket ban on e-scooters does not offer this: it limits our ability to travel and, for short journeys in particular, leaves us with no alternative but to use public transport.

‘We think the best approach is to follow the model used for e-bikes: to quickly draw up regulations that govern appropriate safety standards and legalise universal use on that basis. 

‘We’ve already overcome similar challenges with e-bikes and these now account for 14 per cent of all adult bikes sold. 

‘We’ve found that many customers are already using electric bikes to get to work and re- engage with cycling safely.’

Last year, television presenter Emily Hartridge died in an accident involving an e-scooter in London.

This brought safety concerns into sharp focus and led to a police crakdown on riders in the capital. 

The Department for Transport is said to want e-scooter rental schemes trialled in Britain and it is rumoured to be making an announcement on Tuesday 30 June. 

Insurance won’t be required for those taking part, but they’d need a driving licence or provisional.

These hired scooters could be used legally within the boundaries set – it is still not clear where these trials are taking place.

However, it would still be illegal to use privately-owned e-scooters on the public road and that includes the potential trial areas.

The DfT plans to monitor the safety during the year-long scheme. It is part of the £2billion plan to invest in greener travel.

It is also not clear how e-scooter legality will be shaped in the future – both for private users and rental scheme use.

For example, will they be permitted only in cycle lanes, on roads without cycle lanes or pavements? And crucially, will you need insurance. 

Will sales continue? Even car makers are getting in

Will sales continue to boom – or are e-scooters a fad set to fade quickly? In my opinion, they will continue to be a fringe purchase until the laws are changed.

We’ve seen e-bikes take off in a big way in recent years, but they’re legal to use on the road. 

It is likely that e-scooters could be a handy way or people to make short journeys – those too long to walk, too quick to drive – greener. But most people won’t want to use them for the threat of fines and points on the licence. 

It also depends on availability and reputable brands getting involved – companies buyers have heard of. For instance, car maker SEAT is also getting in on the act.

The Spanish firm has developed an eScooter125, an all-electric motorcycle, and the a MÓ eKickScooter65 and eKickScooter25 to ‘spearhead its urban mobility offensive.’

These last two are e-scooters. The eKickScooter65 has a top speed of 12.5mph and can cover 40 miles on one charge, allegedly. 

Meanwhile, the eKickScooter25 has a top speed of 15.5mph, but a smaller range of 15 miles.

However, SEAT says: ‘As the DofT begins studies into the feasibility and viability of allowing electric scooters to be used on pavement, cycle lanes and public roads by trialling rental schemes, such as those seen in other European cities, the SEAT MÓ vehicles will be the perfect solution. 

‘Subject to successful completion of the trials and being legalised, SEAT will make these vehicles available to purchase across the UK.’

Are e-scooters taking us into the future of mobility? Doc Brown will have to fit one with a flux capacitor in a franchise reboot for us to really know.