New ratings revealed Peterborough well geared up for e-bike revolution

Rented e-scooters/bikes look set to ride to the rescue as the UK begins to return to work. The e-bike hire scheme is being pushed by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for the city.

European e-bike and e-scooter operator Voi has been appointed to carry out the trial to gauge the demand for and the usability of the eco-friendly transport.

The trial is expected to begin in October with a small number of the dockless electrically-powered e-bikes that can travel between five and 10 miles for the benefit of commuters and local local travellers around the city.

Richard Corbett, UK general manager of Voi Technology, said the move would mean the creation of about 50 jobs and the use of a warehouse at Oundle as a maintenance and distribution hub.

Will Owen, Energy Expert from Uswitch comments: “Cities all over the UK have been working hard to stop the spread of Covid-19 and with lockdown finally easing, we’re seeing a welcome push towards climate-friendly transport options such as e-scooters.

“Later this year, the UK will join several European countries including Spain, France and Italy following the release of the DfT’s e-scooter rental framework. 50 city councils have already applied to be part of the trial.

“But the research behind the e-scootability index revealed that some cities were more ‘geared’ up for their arrival than others, with cities in the north making up 70% of the top 10 list.

“Rental e-scooters will be banned from footpaths to protect pedestrians so road safety is another factor that needs to be considered. Alongside the obvious environmental benefits of e-scooter rental schemes, there are many other factors for regulators to consider.”

According to energy comparison site Uswitch, if you live in Peterborough the average cost to travel on public transport is £61.52, but they are now pointing to a potentially cheaper option. The team at Uswitch have revealed how much money commuters could save on their electric scooter commute.

Uswitch calculates if those commuting in Peterborough trade in their daily commute, they can save £16.69 a month in travel costs - that is a 27 per cent saving and £200.28 a year.

as part of a survey of cities, Peterborough was listed the fifth-highest saving city out of a possible 10 set for escooter use, proving how beneficial the impact of electric-scooters will be in the city.

You can read more about the study here.

Taking a seed list of 40 of the UK’s most populous cities, the energy team at Uswitch analysed the ‘e-scootability’ of each city, based on metrics such as air quality, pothole complaints, bike thefts and planned cycle with a maximum score of 70 available.

Peterborough scored a escootability rating of 39.3, placing it 10th in the table of cities ready to give the green light to scooters.

Scoring 50 out of 70 available points, Newcastle topped the index, owing to 13km of planned cycle lanes[7] and 8,306 potential commuters who could benefit from the rental scheme.

The North is home to the most e-scootable cities. Seven out of the top 10 are located in the north of England, with Peterborough the only one in the Midlands and and East of England, although Leicester, Nowrich and Cambridge scored almost as highly.

Peterborough scored highly (9 out of 10) for its air quality riders would have to face during their commute.

The air quality rankings saw Preston and Carlisle top the list which would make for a pleasant e-scooter commute. Cities scoring low on this metric such as Wolverhampton and Wakefield could also benefit from the emission free advantages that e-scooter bring.

To understand the potential uptake of e-scooters, the team scored each city based on the commuters already using two wheels to get to work, with Peterborough doing well on this at 8.1 out of 10. That list was topped by Cambridge with 15.34% of the population already cycling, followed by Westminster (12.42%), Oxford (8.75%) and York (5.29%).

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published the nation’s first official framework for e-scooter rentals, which enabled trials to start from July 4.

Until recently, e-scooters were completely banned from the UK’s roads, but pilot trials for rental e-scooters have been fast-tracked into place, with the aim of discouraging workers from using their cars as they return to work following the easing of lockdown in the UK.

The e-scooter rental trials were originally earmarked to take place in just four transport zones, but they will now be offered to all areas across the nation.

The index scored each city based on the length of planned cycleways from the Cycling Infrastructure Prioritisation Toolkit (CyIPT). These cycleways could be used by e-scooter users, keeping riders safe and away from traffic. Peterborough fared badly, with a zero scored for no extra routes planned.

Mr Owen explained the UK we should follow the US and Europe’s lead when it comes to implementing emission-free commuter scooter schemes.

He said it would reduce the amount we spend on our daily commute. In the UK, the average cost of our monthly commute is estimated to be £146, so around £7.30 per day (based on 20 working days in a month).

If a similar model was adopted here in the UK, that would reduce monthly commuting costs by 69%.

There is a growing concern over a sudden spike in air pollution as more people follow advice on avoiding public transport as they return to work. He said escooters would help reduce the amount of CO2 in our cities, reducing air pollution overall.

There has been a lot of debate about e-scooter safety with illegal parking and accidents. However, figures from a recent study confirm that e-scooter riders do not face much higher risk of road traffic incidents than cyclists do, despite some concern.

The Department of Transport has already provided safety regulations and guidance: speed limit of 15.5mph; driving licence required for use; private scooters remain illegal; not permitted on footpaths and cycle lanes.