WECA E-scooter Trial

Introduction

The WECA E-scooter trial is one of number of E-scooter trials currently being delivered is a Department for Transport trial to understand the E-scooter usage. The benefit of a trial is that it can help the Department for Transport and Local Authorities to understand usage, user behaviour, impacts of road surfaces and any mitigations if the use of this vehicle is to increase. In addition the delivery of a trial means that the usage can be regulated in that it is controlled with specific areas of use and also if incorrect rider behaviour is detected such as twin-riding, underage riding or anti-social activity then the user can be banned.

E-scooters offer the potential for fast, clean and inexpensive travel that can also help ease the burden on transport networks and allow for social distancing. The use of E-scooters enables residents to replace short car journeys with a lower environmental footprint, with huge potential to improve air quality and reduce climate change. It also provides a socially distanced, outdoor mode of transport which is convenient, affordable and flexible travel for point-to-point journeys, or for the first or last mile to public transport.

Website information

Project website E-scooter trial - Travelwest
South Gloucestershire Council - E-scooters trial | BETA - South Gloucestershire Council (southglos.gov.uk)
Department for Transport E-scooter trials – E-scooter trials: guidance for local areas and rental operators - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

TIER e-scooters

TIER e-scooters will be deployed on the streets of Bristol from Saturday 14 October with e-bikes and cargo bikes to follow
Long Term Rental e-scooters are available from today - Bristol and Bath residents can order theirs from the TIER website
2,000 shared TIER vehicles will be available during the launch period, eventually ramping up to 4,000

TIER, Europe's largest shared micro-mobility provider, will begin its roll-out of e-scooters in Bristol this Saturday (14 October), taking over and expanding the shared mobility service of the city from the previous operator. 2,000 TIER e-scooters will be deployed initially, with the number increasing to 4,000 over time. Shared e-bikes will join the fleet shortly and cargo e-bikes will be available through the nextbike by TIER app by the end of the month.

Users will need to download the TIER app and create an account and prove they are over the age of 18 with a valid full or provisional driving licence to ride an e-scooter. E-scooters and e-bikes cost 99p to unlock and then 16p per minute. Users can also choose from a range of passes. TIER's UK Access programme offers discounts for a range of users including university staff and students, Blue Light Card holders, those on income support or Universal Credit and more.

To use a TIER cargo bike users must be over 18 and will need to download the nextbike by TIER app.

Today also marks the launch of the Long Term Rental by TIER service through which Bristol and Bath residents will have access to their own e-scooter, supplied by TIER, for a monthly fee of £40. Users must be over the age of 18, have at least a provisional driving licence, have created an account in the TIER app and s can only be ridden within the Bristol or Bath business area.

To help improve parking conditions in busy areas, 100 parking suitable bays across the region will have physical markers installed, designed to make it easier for users to find the parking bay and to keep vehicles contained to the designated area.

RULES AND SAFETY

E-scooters are classed as motorised vehicles, this is why you must have a full or provisional driving license and insurance (the insurance is covered by the e-scooter rental company!).

You're riding a fairly heavy and fast vehicle that will sometimes share spaces with other more vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.

If not driven safely you could cause harm to you and others, so it's very important that you ride in a safe and responsible manner. If you don't, your account may be suspended and you may be reported to the police who may apply points to your driving licence and/or issue you with a fine.

General rules

You must be at least 18 years old to ride an e-scooter, and hold a full or provisional driving licence
Do not allow others to use your account or driving licence. You will be responsible for any misuse
Never ride on the pavement
Do not ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Only one person per vehicle

When renting, users agree to park the vehicles with respect towards pedestrians, property and traffic, and to also ensure the following:

The vehicle is parked on a footway closely alongside a wall or in connection to a bike stand/parking rack
The vehicle is standing up in a steady manner on its kickstand
The vehicle is not blocking entrances, access ramps, traffic, bus stops, crossings, or obstructing pavements

TIER customer service

If you encounter any issues with your hire or rental, such as the location of parked vehicles, misplaced vehicles, or inappropriate riding behaviour including underage riding (below the age of 18), you should report this to the operator via the app or the email address below.

TIER customer service Email Address:support@tier.app

Stakeholders Meetings

Notes from the stakeholders meetings hosted by Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) involving West of England Combined Authority (WECA), South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), Voi and Avon & Somerset Constabulary regarding the Voi e-scooters pilot project.

WECA E-scooter trial - parking infrastructure implementation - August 2021

I'm contacting you to make you aware that as part of the WECA E-scooter trial the operator will soon be implementing some E-scooter parking infrastructure within the initial South Gloucestershire expansion area of Filton, Patchway, Bradley Stoke & Stoke Gifford. This will be 17 painted parking bays which will fit a number of E-scooters and also 7 E-scooter parking racks across the whole of South Gloucestershire.

The location of the proposed painted parking bays in Bradley Stoke are:

Brook Way – adjacent to the entrance to the Three Brooks Nature Reserve (Grid Reference: 362067, 181199)
Brook Way – junction with Hawkins Crescent (Grid Reference: 361907, 181542)
Bradley Stoke Way – adjacent to Willow Brook Centre (Grid Reference: 362144, 182028)
Bradley Stoke Way – adjacent to Leisure Centre (Grid Reference: 362144, 182028)
Bradley Stoke Way – adjacent to Metrobus stop near Baileys Court Road (Grid Reference: 363006, 180911)
Bradley Stoke Way – adjacent to Metrobus stop near Baileys Court Road (Grid reference: 363148, 180782)

The parking infrastructure is being installed as a mitigation to reduce E-scooter clutter where users may end their ride and leave the E-scooter vehicles untidily potentially creating an obstruction for other pedestrians and cyclists along with accessibility features such as dropped kerbs and tactile paving. The parking racks and painted bays will clarify parking locations for both users and non-users.

The locations where infrastructure is being installed has been reviewed by the council's Assess & Decide team with feedback and some alterations provided to the operator. The locations were chosen based on the top fifteen utilised parking areas along with suggestions by myself. The operator has had a Section 50 licence approved by South Gloucestershire Council to enable there contractors to implement the infrastructure on pavements/shared use paths and all parking bays and E-scooter parking racks will be removed by the operator's contractor at the end of the trial.

Signage will be installed along the E-scooter parking infrastructure so that it is clear that the asset has been installed as part of the WECA E-scooter trial and will also include contact details for the operator Voi. WECA will also update the Travelwest website with information on the E-scooter parking.

WECA, South Gloucestershire Council and Voi will monitor the usage of these parking locations following the installation of the parking infrastructure to understand the impact on user behaviour and E-scooter clutter. This will potentially lead to further installations of parking infrastructure within the existing E-scooter trial area within the authority for the remainder of the trials duration.

In addition to the E-scooter parking infrastructure Voi have also implemented a number of other mitigations both to affect E-scooter parking and user behaviour.
Voi is implementing a Mandatory Parking Cap (MPZ) which means a maximum of 10 trial E-scooter can park t locations which have had overcrowding. This was rolled out to over 100 locations in July and will be 200 by the end of August although largely in Bristol. All new Its positive as means some locations don't become too full but creates the need for additional E-scooter parking locations nearby to spread the total vehicles but this can be difficult in residential areas. Voi will soon be making this a variable capacity so that we can stipulate some locations to have a lower or greater maximum capacity.

Since April all users have had to take a photo of the location that they've completed their ride and submit it within the Voi app. This is then reviewed and users can receive warnings and fines for bad parking and this is hoped that it improves parking behaviour.

WECA E-scooter trial update

Overall the E-scooter trial has been going really well with very strong usage in the Bristol/South Gloucestershire trial area. It's really pleasing to see that usage is remaining very high at around 65,000 trips per week for a variety of purposes and saving car journeys in many instances. The mode is still gaining 13% new riders each week and is one of the most successful in Europe. The trial fleet will soon reach its target of over 3,000 vehicles for the whole Bristol & South Gloucestershire short term rental trial area. For usage until the end of April the demographic split was 61% Male and 39% Female which exceeds the industry average of 25% usage for Females. Typically the majority of users are between 18 – 35. The mode also provided a significant benefit to NHS and emergency workers during the pandemic with over 3,000 employees registering to and undertaking over 60,000 journeys during the period of the national lockdown when the operator provided monthly passes for free. This has now reduced to 75% discount for emergency services and NHS employees and its hoped that staff continue to use the mode.

Further information on the WECA E-scooter trial can be found on the Travlwest website - E-scooter trial - Travelwest

Please do get in touch if you have any queries relating to the WECA E-scooter trial.

Many thanks

Tom Lacey
Senior Project Manager, Strategic Infrastructure Services.