No more e-scooters in West Midlands After March 1st
A couple days ago, the tv company ITV carried an article on their website about the end of e-scooter operation in Birmingham.
The article showed parts of an interview between one of their reporters and the Mayor of The West Midlands; Andy Street.
The article reads:
It will not be possible to hire an e-scooter in the West Midlands after next Wednesday, 1 March, when the current contract with operator Voi comes to an end.
In an exclusive interview with ITV News Central the Mayor of the West Midlands says he and transport bosses in the region are still searching for a replacement operator for the region’s e-scooters.
A tender for the new contract opened last summer, which Voi was free to enter, but the procurement process hasn’t yet finished.
The mayor admits he doesn’t yet have a date for when the new operator might be appointed – meaning e-scooters will be out of action indefinitely.
Transport bosses say they’re aware the gap “will be hugely inconvenient for the many existing e-scooter rental customers.”
Since the scheme’s launch by the Mayor of the West Midlands and Birmingham City Council in 2020, there have been many recorded cases of rule breaking and misuse.
Riders have been captured using scooters without helmets, riding in pairs, driving on pavements, and those under 18 have been using them.
But as Voi’s contract ends, Andy Street insists the pause in e-scooter hire has nothing to do with health and safety.
He said: “The end of the contract is coming as planned, not because of any breach in the security procedures.
“That’s the purpose of the pilot, to come to an end, to assess it…and then we will bring forward a new operator because the critical point, is, of course, we want to learn the lessons of the pilot, so that we’ve got a safe scheme going forward.”
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People living in the West Midlands hope that lessons will be learned from the trial – including the uncle of a young boy who died while riding one.
“Even if there are rules set out, the difficulty is that it’s being abused” says Ish Ali, the uncle of a young boy killed on an e-scooter.
Mustafa Nadeem 12, died while riding a Voi scooter on his way to school in December last year. His uncle says the rules preventing under 18s from riding e-scooters are too easy for young people to break.
“This is well known and we can see this on the Voi website, I know that the point’s being emphasised…but is it actually getting across?”
What lessons have been learnt from Voi’s escooter scheme?
“On the two incidents, I can reassure you that we examined immediately to ensure that the safety procedures operated by Voi had not been breached.”
When asked if he was content with Voi’s performance during the pilots and trial scheme, the Mayor responded: “That is all a private matter between Transport for West Midlands and the contractor, but to be really clear, we have examined very closely how these scooters got into the hands of young people, and that is not a failing on Voi’s part.”
Are e-scooters safe?
Since trials began across the country, e-scooter accidents have skyrocketed.
Figures in the year ending June 2022 show that there were nearly 1,437 casualties in collisions involving e-scooters, compared to 1,033 in the year before.
While the number of people who’ve died in e-scooter accidents has tripled.
Transport for West Midlands say:
“The e-scooter operation has provided significant transport and environmental benefits to the region with a minimum of 25 percent of the 2.2 million trips taken estimated to have used a scooter instead of a car – easing traffic congestion and reducing pollution.”
What do Voi say?
A Voi spokesperson said:
“Our contract to run the e-scooter trial for West Midlands Combined Authority is due to expire next week. Over the coming weeks we will be removing our scooters and parking racks from the city. We are contacting our riders directly about arrangements for any outstanding rides and passes.
“Since September 2020 we have seen 141,000 riders take 2.4 million rides in Birmingham, covering 3.14 million miles. Each week we have 10,000 regular riders making 30,000 journeys – 40 percent of which are commuting to work or higher education.
“We are very sad to be discontinuing our operations in Birmingham.
“We remain optimistic about the future of micro-mobility in the region and hope to be back to serve riders soon.”
See the ITV article here itv.com
I’ve seen numerous e-scooters left in the street in various places, presumably having been abandoned when they ran out of charge.
I’ve seen many people whizzing along, on pavements and in & out of traffic, with the riders seeming oblivious to pedestrians and traffic conditions.
As far as I’m concerned, the fewer of these ridiculous, and frankly dangerous, virtue-signalling scooters there are, the better.
Bold emphasis added
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About the author: Andy Rowlands is a university graduate in space science and British Principia Scientific International researcher, writer and editor who co-edited the new climate science book, ‘The Sky Dragon Slayers: Victory Lap‘
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Koen Vogel
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That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it. Am I now not allowed to ride a scooter lest I be accused of signalling virtue? Frankly, sir, I’ve never had any virtues and certainly have never signalled them. I think scooters may play a role in easing inner-city traffic congestion, parking etc., but there are still numerous teething issues, so maybe give them a chance? .As usual politicians are making a hash out of everything, due to their ever-conflicting agendas and priorities., but that’s hardly the fault of scooters. But as I am now rapidly becoming an old fart I concur that these young rapscallions whizzing by on their e-scooters are a menace. Bring back the eco-friendly and sustainable horse and buggy.
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Andy Rowlands
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If you wish to ride one Koen please do 🙂 Older people like us will observe the rules and ride safely. The point I was making is they are virtue-signalling to the climate alarmists, so councils could say look how good we are, we’re helping save the planet or some other such garbage.
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Andy and PSI Readers,
It seems that our present memory of history is almost none existent. According to Einstein quotes, which I believe to be a fact, I read: “Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.”
I draw attention to the history of the USA laws which prohibited the manufacture of and sale of intoxicating beverages. Which law didn’t work.
Andy, you wrote: “Older people like us will observe the rules”. Regardless of our age and regardless of a person’s respect for the law of the land, people, young or old, have accidents. And many a person has died in bed.
Relative to alcoholic beverages the societal problem are the accidents caused by intoxicated drivers. And the penally for such a first conviction must be great enough to likely convince others that doing such is little different from being convicted of deliberate murder (the death penalty).
Probably this seems a bit extreme, but so is drinking and driving and killing someone while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Have a good day
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Howdy
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Respect for other people’s right to life is the root factor and the law be damned. If people only care about themselves, why would another’s needs be considered if it didn’t mean some sort of loss or incarceration? Even then, many have no apparent intelligence in this matter and do it anyway. Yes I know, that’s the human thing for some people.
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Howdy
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“Riders have been captured using scooters without helmets, riding in pairs, driving on pavements, and those under 18 have been using them.”
These machines are self-powered for road going use. That means a full UK licence is required to use one. Odd that it wasn’t mentioned.
To use a parliamentary buzzword, perhaps the higher cost of the service is now, “unsustainable”. It seems a worthy get out for anything else in govt.
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Howdy
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About riding two abreast. It is cycling, but could this apply to the scooters?
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/campaigning/article/20220127-Highway-Code-%E2%80%93-Riding-two-abreast-0
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