Southampton set to have 700 E-Scooters by August
Southampton is set to have 700 E-Scooters available to rent and ride by August. The trial launched in Southampton at the end of March starting with 50 E-Scooters and in May numbers increased to 200.
The Department of Transport launched the trial of rentable E-Scooters in several cities across the UK.
The number of docking stations available in Southampton is constantly increasing and one has recently been added to Shirley High Street.
Steve Leggett, cabinet member for green city and place, said: “It will start to go towards Bitterne, up to the General Hospital and down where West Quay Road is.”
Councillor Leggett explained there has been a total of 3841 rides with a 65% increase week on week and 9000km travelled.
Sam Kirby, 20, said: “I think they are really good. They definitely help people get around the city a lot more easily especially in a time of social distancing.”
The E-Scooters are available to ride between 6 am-10 pm and cost £1 to unlock and 14p per minute of usage.
Bramwell Mills, 29, who uses the E-Scooters to get to work, said: “They’re grand. I mean they are super convenient. They could be a bit cheaper but there are schemes in place.”
Councillor Leggett explained that the government introduced the 7-month trial to gather data on how they are used, who’s using them and what the issues are. At the end of the 7-month trial, the government will decide what policy to adopt.
Councillor Leggett said that Voi Scooters are worth trying as they’re “green” and it “doesn’t create congestion, it takes cars off the road, and if it’s a nice sunny day you can get fresh air. Why not try it.”
