London e-scooter trial extended to cover more of the capital after five million trips

E-scooter rental trials have now been expanded across a third of London boroughs, offering the only legal way to drive electric scooters on roads in the capital.

Wandsworth is the latest to join the trial run jointly by Transport for London (TfL) and London councils, with operators Voi and Lime.

It is illegal to use private e-scooters on public roads because they have no required minimum safety standards, whereas rentals have a 12.5mph speed limit and lights that always come on.

The trial is set to run until 25 September 2025, but it could be extended by a year.

Since the trial launched in June 2021 five million trips have been taken, totalling more than 10 million kilometres – which is enough to travel around the world 250 times.

According to the figures provided by TfL demand for e-scooters is increasing, with a 27 per cent increase in customers taking more than one ride.

Wandsworth Council’s inclusion in the trial from this week adds 35 km² and around 170 rental e-scooter parking bays to the borough, a TfL spokesperson said.

The total trial area is now approximately 300km² with 1,300 bays. London's trial is one of the largest trials running nationally, with a fleet of more than 4,000 vehicles.

TfL said the data revealed 0.0004 per cent of rental e-scooter trips have resulted in serious injury, with the risk rate decreasing year-on-year. There have also been no fatalities.

Will Norman, London's walking and cycling commissioner, said: “The data clearly shows that the rental e-scooter trial has helped to boost sustainable and active travel transport in our city, with over five million journeys made since it launched, and it has also laid bare the significant difference in safety between private and rental scooters.”

The trial is testing new, innovative technology, such as pavement riding detection and AI, to improve parking compliance and look at how TfL can improve the experience of London’s rental e-scooters.

However, long-term regulation is needed to provide cities with the power to manage rental e-scooter schemes permanently, and regulate private e-scooters with the minimum hardware standards on par with rental e-scooters.

The Independent analysed Department for Transport figures at the end of last year, which found six people were killed and hundreds more were injured in e-scooter crashes in 2023, sparking calls for more regulation of the privately owned vehicles which are not capped for speed.

TfL's e-scooter trial lead Helen Sharp said: “We continue to put safety at the heart of the trial and regularly review trial performance to ensure that the scheme works for both users and non-users of the service.

“Working closely with operators and people across London, we will continue to build on what we’ve learnt to date, to ensure that everyone benefits from using rental e-scooters across the capital.”