Positive use of the trial

Councillors describe the rental e-scooters as a flexible mode of transport, with the ability to pick them up and leave them ‘anywhere’. They praise the strategic placement of docking stations around the city, enabling users to conveniently use the e-scooters to reach a variety of destinations.

“The convenience of it, that obviously you can just go from A to B and it’s quite flexible in terms of getting across the city, again in a lot of ways better than public transportation”

“The locations of the docking stations … that is excellent because they’re placed in very good strategic locations.”

Councillors find that the rental e-scooters are an affordable and cost-effective way of travelling in the city. This is in relation to the cost of public transport in Portsmouth, which was described as ‘extortionate’, as well as the cost of owning and running a car. Particularly, councillors highlight the current context of increased prices of fuel and cost of living in making rental e-scooters a more affordable mode of transport. They argue the affordability of rental e-scooters makes them an accessible form of transport for those on lower incomes.

“It’s very cost effective and I think with the rising price of fuel … and the rising cost of living it’s a cheap mode of travel.”

As they are electrically powered, councillors appreciate that rental e-scooters are a more environmentally friendly mode of travelling, particularly in comparison to cars. They highlight that residents who would have taken a taxi for a particular journey may now use a rental e-scooter instead, further reducing the number of car journeys. Councillors point out the greater appeal of rental e-scooters to the younger population as potentially reducing the possibility of young people needing to learn to drive and buy a car to travel independently.

“I think they’re really positive definitely on the whole because you know it is getting people out of their cars and less reliant on vehicles.”

Councillors also refer to rental e-scooters as ‘bridging a gap’ in Portsmouth’s transport network, such as that left by poor public transport. Describing rental e-scooters as a ‘self-teaching’ form of transport, they highlight its accessibility and ability to reduce pressure on other services, like public transport. Additionally, councillors point out the big issues with congestion and parking in the city, arguing that rental e-scooters can alleviate the pressure here, particularly at popular commuting times.