Could the e-scooter revolution be coming to Peterborough?

Work is currently under way to trial an e-scooter rental system across the city that would take in Peterborough Train Station, Peterborough City Hospital, business parks, Nene Park and residential areas.

A shortlist of operators is currently being drawn up by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) jointly with Peterborough City Council.

One of the operators battling to secure approval to run the rental system is Tier, which already runs rental systems in 65 cities across Europe.

Peterborough’s one year pilot project is being put together after the Department for Transport announced a week ago that local authorities could run e-scooters for hire systems.

They are seen as an eco-friendly method of easing pressure on public transport during the coronavirus crisis.

However, it remains illegal to use a privately owned e-scooters on the roads.

Tier’s UK general manager, Fred Jones, said that if its bid is successful, the company would look to operate about 100 e-scooters across Peterborough and would employ up to six people operating from a warehouse of several thousand square feet in the city.

Mr Jones said “As the local economy looks to bounce back after Covid, this is a great opportunity to respond to the challenge of enabling people to commute to their jobs, to see their friends and family and get to leisure destinations around the city.

He said: “Anyone can throw a bunch of scooters on to a street corner but that is not the right way to go about it.

“Tier deploys e-scooters in a safe, responsible and environmentally sustainable way.

“Safety is at the heart of everything we do.

“The wheels of our e-scooters have dual shock suspension and we have a dual hand brake for front and rear wheels. There is also an integrated helmet and a holder for the rider’s mobile phone.”

Tier’s e-scooter is accessed via an app on the user’s mobile phone. Typically, it costs £1 to unlock the e-scooter and then 15 pence for every minute in use. So a 10 minute journey would cost £2.50.

Under the trial, selected routes would be tightly controlled by the local authority, and using modern technology, it would be possible to ensure an e-scooter would not work if used in a prohibited area.

E-scooters can only be ridden by someone holding a provisional or full driving licence.

The battery-powered e-scooters have a top speed of 15.5mph. The speed is greatly reduced for the first five minutes of a user’s first journey.

Mr Jones said: “This is first climate neutral e-scooter. Nothing is sent to landfill tips. Ninety-one per cent of all components can be recycled.

“We use swappable batteries for more efficient daily operations and our engineers use e-cargo bikes and e-vans.

“We use green energy to charge our fleet and run our warehouses.”

A spokeswoman for Peterborough City Council said: “The project would potentially see the trial of e-scooters along specific routes on a one year basis, the data gathered around usage, traffic and effects on pedestrians will be analysed and help the government make a decision on the permanent legalisation of e-scooters.

“Peterborough is assisting with the development of a proposal to the DfT which could see trials in Peterborough from the city centre to Lynch Wood business park, Nene Park and Peterborough City Hospital.

“At this point in time nothing has been confirmed and we are looking into a number of considerations before making a decision.

“Currently we are in discussions with a number of potential delivery partners and a suitable supplier has not yet been selected therefore we are unable to provide details on costs at this point in time.

“The DfT funded E-scooter project is being led by the CPCA and will therefore adhere to their tendering process.”

A request for a comment has been made to the Combined Authority.