Riders would be able to travel at 15.5mph including 16-year-olds who hold a provisional driving licence
Sadiq Khan’s transport bosses are planning to increase the speed of e-scooters and reduce the age limit for riders, The Telegraph can reveal. Transport for London (TfL) has been considering a “speed increase” on the devices, despite 35 people having been “detained in hospital” since the trial of the scooters in the UK was launched in 2021.
Currently, the capital’s fleet of nearly 5,000 rental e-scooters cannot exceed a speed of 12.5mph, but a report by London Councils, the city’s local government association, has revealed that TfL wants to raise that limit to 15.5mph.
It also says TfL is considering reducing the age limit for all e-scooter manufacturers in the trial to just 16, as long as the rider has a provisional driving licence. At present, the device operator can set its own rules. Lime requires a rider to be at least 18, while Voi has a lower age limit of 16.
However, the report, by the chair of the London Council‘s Transport & Environment Committee, notes that the relaxing of rules can only happen once a “geofencing” safety issue which “creates a significant risk to the rider” is resolved.
It says “15 per cent of all e-scooter rides” are “clipped” by a geo-fence zone – a technology which creates “go-slow” and “no-go” to stop the devices being ridden where they are not allowed.
The report adds: “TfL receives weekly incident reporting on safety incidents that occur where a scooter rider is “clipped” by a geo-fence zone whilst riding in the carriageway, causing a sudden loss of power to their vehicle, creating a significant risk for the rider.”
Of those who experience this sudden shutdown, 40 per cent of riders “do not take another trip”.
As a result of the “clipping” two boroughs have removed geofencing entirely, the report adds.
A TfL spokesman said the mayor’s transport authority was “unable” to share the weekly safety reports because they contain “sensitive information”.
The authority’s own data shows that e-scooter operators have reported 35 serious injuries since 2021. A serious injury is classified as those requiring hospital “in-patient” treatment, fractures, concussion, internal injuries, crushing, burns, severe cuts or injuries causing death 30 or more days after the collision.
TfL did not respond to a request for clarification of whether their injury data was for riders or pedestrians or both.
The London Council’s report says that TfL’s decision to revise the e-scooter scheme was an attempt to “help support the longevity of the trial and ensure the mode stays competitive”.
‘Terrifyingly fast compared to walking’
Sarah Gayton, of the blind campaigning charity NFBUK, said: “It is insane that rental e-scooters are already terrifyingly fast compared to a walking pace. These machines are inherently unsafe and allowing 16-year-olds access to them is asking for trouble.
“Safety concerns are being ignored due to what appears to be pressure from e-scooter operators who are having too much influence on TfL policy.
“When will pedestrian safety and accessibility needs be prioritised? And why are blind, deaf-blind and visually impaired people’s safety not being considered?”
Helen Sharp, TfL’s e-scooter trial lead, said: “Safety is at the core of our e-scooter trial with London having high safety standards. We monitor and evaluate the performance of the trial and are continually looking for ways to make improvements.
“Recently, working with participating boroughs and operators, we have reduced the number of go-slow and no-go areas across the trial area, to improve the experience for riders without impacting those not using the service.
“We have also considered increasing the speed limit to align with the national limit of 15.5mph but we will not be making a change to the trial’s maximum speed at this time.” Earlier this year, Paris held a referendum in which people voted to ban the 15,000 e-scooters amid widespread anger that they were parked badly, used dangerously and were not safe for riders and pedestrians.
The London e-scooter experiment is the UK’s largest and was introduced by the Government during the height of the pandemic to create a “green transport revolution”. Contracts for the devices have now been extended into 2026 in the capital.
I thought some (legal and illegal) are capable of doing near 30mph not 12.5mph. It's unbelievable this could be happening as in France e-scooters have been banned yet Mr Khan is increasing its speed limit in London.
I thought some (legal and illegal) are capable of doing near 30mph not 12.5mph. It's unbelievable this could be happening as in France e-scooters have been banned yet Mr Khan is increasing its speed limit in London.
we have that issue in london too. that, along with the awful floating bus stops, must make getting around very difficult for blind people (and the disabled).
we have that issue in london too. that, along with the awful floating bus stops, must make getting around very difficult for blind people (and the disabled).