why escooters solve a range of public policy transport goals

Impacts of e-scooters

E-scooters are battery-powered personal transport devices that appear to offer solutions to a wide range of transport policy goals:

They require less effort than riding a bicycle;

They are potentially more convenient than bus travel; and

They are less polluting than conventional petrol and diesel vehicles.

Manufacturers and proponents of e-scooters alike claim e-scooters could help to reduce congestion and improve air quality by getting people out of their cars, while supporting first and last mile transport to and from public transport terminals.

E-scooters could also offer a simple and cheap means to get around for those less physically able or mobile.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Road Safety (PACTS) has questioned whether these benefits will be realised. In its policy paper on e-scooters it states:

From evidence and experience around the world, it is now very clear that the public benefits are illusory and the disbenefits substantial, at least in a European context. As such, e-scooters will work against many of the government’s objectives. PACTS therefore opposes the trials and wider legalisation of e-scooters.