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<p>The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for
the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022,
with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor,
Arup.</p><p>This will include high level information on the number of trips; average
distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users,
from across the trials.</p><p> </p><p>The evaluation is collecting data on accidents
and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial
areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19
database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a
personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident.</p><p>
</p><p>Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated
vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and
can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.</p><p> </p><p>Data
for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded
in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish
data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from
the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported
Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is not
collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold.</p><p> </p><p>It is not illegal
to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations
2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information
about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations
ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely
to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for
example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased.
The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards
officers.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018
Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of
the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly.
It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when
buying these products.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued
to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are
allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter
operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department.
We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and
these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting,
any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas.</p><p> </p><p>Since
July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing
the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent
roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials,
gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people
in trial areas.</p><p> </p><p>We have instructed all local authorities participating
in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas
to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following
our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we
have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can
make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is
also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where
a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters
do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those
with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring
and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing
vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process.</p><p> </p><p>There
are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up
to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded.
We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities
are speaking to police forces in their areas.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
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