E-scooter rental trial: Legal and illegal usage

Summary

• The majority of respondents know that it is currently illegal to ride an e-scooter on public roads (91%). This has risen by four percentage points since wave one (87%)
• 16–24-year-olds were most likely to think it is legal (9%), followed by 7% of 25–34-year-olds
• The majority of respondents feel that the clarification of the legal status of e-scooters has had no impact on their likelihood to use the rental e-scooter trial (67%), followed by 19% who felt that they were now less likely or much less likely to use the trial scheme
• For the majority of those who have never thought about purchasing an e-scooter, the legal clarification has had no impact (73%) or made them less likely to try the trial (22%)
• An asterisk (*) indicates a small base size, caution should be taken when interpreting the results

This chart shows respondents awareness on the legal status of using privately owned e-scooters on public roads.
91% of respondents in wave two think they are illegal, 4% think they are legal and 5% said they don’t know. In wave one 87% of respondents thought they were illegal, 6% thought they were legal and 7% didn’t know. Of those aged 16-24, 87% think they are illegal, 9% think they are legal and 4% don’t know. Of those aged 25-34, 87% think they are illegal, 7% think they are legal and 6% don’t know. Of those aged 35-44, 89% think they are illegal, 5% think they are legal and 6% don’t know. Of those aged 45-54, 93% think they are illegal, 3% think they are legal and 5% don’t know. Of those aged 55-64, 93% think they are illegal, 3% think they are legal and 4% don’t know. Of those aged 65 and over, 92% think they are illegal, 4% think they are legal and 4% don’t know.

Base: Wave one (2432) | Wave two (3033) | 16-24 (103) | 25-34 (415) | 35-44 (468) | 45-54 (524) | 55-64 (495) | 65+ (491)

This chart shows the impact the clarification of the legal status of e-scooters has had on respondents’ likelihood to use the rental e-scooter trial scheme.
Overall, 14% of respondents feel the clarification has made them more likely or much more likely to use the trial scheme, 67% feel it has had no impact, and 19% feel they are less likely or much less likely to use the trial scheme.
Of those who have never thought about purchasing an e-scooter, 5% are now more likely or much more likely to use the trial, 73% feel the clarification has had no impact, and 22% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who are using rental e-scooters as part of the Portsmouth trial, 46% are now more likely or much more likely to use the scheme, 53% feel it has had no impact, and 1% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who want to try out the rental e-scooter trial scheme, 34% are now more likely or much more likely to use the scheme, 63% feel it has had no impact, and 3% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who have thought about purchasing an e-scooter but have not decided yet, 43% are now more likely or much more likely to use the scheme, 52% feel it has had no impact, and 5% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who have thought about purchasing an e-scooter and have decided not to purchase one, 20% are now more likely or much more likely to use the scheme, 61% feel it has had no impact, and 19% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who are planning to purchase their own e-scooter, 30% are now more likely or much more likely to use the trial as a result of the legal clarification, 65% feel it has had no impact, and 5% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.
Of those who have access to the use of someone else’s private e-scooter, 11% are now more likely or much more likely to use the trial, 74% feel it has had no impact, and 15% are now less likely or much less likely to use the scheme.

Base: Wave two (3005) | From top to bottom (1870) | (420) | (277) | (221) | (217) | (40) | (27*) | *Caution small base