Would you like to have E-Scooters available in Herefordshire

[Hereford Voice]

Popular e-scooters are being used in cities all over the world and now many cities here in the UK.

Beryl are expanding their use across their network and have e-scooters and have a free trials tomorrow in Bournemouth.

We have received many emails and messages from local people who have used e-scooters and would welcome them as an alternative form of low coast transport around the city.

Have you used an e-scooter and would you like Herefordshire Council to give the go-ahead for e-scooters in Herefordshire?

Hereford Voice first published details about e-scooters back in May 2020 in our article here 👉 https://hfd.news/eif

[megilleland]

We seem to be satisfying both ends of the age spectrum. The young and fit on e-scooters and the elderly, disabled in electric wheelchairs together mixing with cyclists and pedestrians will lead to some accidents no doubt. One only has to look in High Town to see how these people move about with little regard for one another. The condition of most pavements in the city has added to the risk taking of getting from A to B with wheels getting stuck in pot holes, ruts and few drop kerbs. 

The electric scooter law LOOPHOLE you need to know

[ragwert]

Sorry but you won't see them here with our backward thinking Council

[twowheelsgood]

Small wheels and big potholes don't sit well together. Most of the City's roads are in a truly terrible state and the pavements are not much better. There's a degree of education required over scooters eg do you ride only on the road or only on the pavement or both? Do you have to be insured and display an ID plate etc etc. Of course, no one cares and people will do what they want to do, knowing what few Police are left aren't interested in dealing with the paperwork. Typically, the Government trials have been a shambles and have been manna for screaming Daily Mail headlines, to the extent that these scooters are already toxic in many people's minds. Anything that reduces car use has to be a good thing, and the Voi scooters highlighted in the YouTube video linked above seem to have very sophisticated software to control the behaviour of the scooter independent of the rider, but whether Hereford will turn them or any other a profit remains to be seen. Would I use one? No, I'm not against them, but I'll stick to my bike.

[megilleland]

From The Guardian today:

E-scooter firms to develop universal warning sound after collisions

Licensed operators Dott, Lime and Tier are working with UK engineers amid concerns from charities for blind people

E-scooters could all be given the same distinctive artificial sound to warn people when they are approaching, after engineers and rival operators announced a joint research project to identify the best noise for them to make.

Acoustic researchers will work with firms licensed to run UK e-scooter rental schemes with the aim of developing a universal sound for the otherwise near-silent vehicles. The sound would help alert other road users, particularly people with sight loss. 

Concerns have been raised by charities for blind people about the safety of e-scooters after a number of collisions, although these have largely involved unlicensed e-scooters, which are illegal to drive on public roads, let alone pavements.

The sound will be developed at University College London’s laboratories with input from the three licensed operators in London: Dott, Lime and Tier. The multinational operators want to give all their e-scooters the same sound, and hope to set an industry standard for the UK and around the world.

Researchers are aiming for the new sound to be sufficiently distinctive and audible to alert those with sight loss, while not creating further difficulty for those with hearing loss and neurodiverse conditions. A spokesperson said a range of noises would be “ethically tested” at UCL’s Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory.

Prof Nick Tyler, the director of the facility, said: “Through studying how the human hearing system has evolved, we can create sounds for e-scooters that are detectable without adding more noise to the environment. It is a huge scientific challenge, but one that will enable everyone to feel comfortable with this new form of micromobility that is quickly growing in popularity.”

Fred Jones, a regional general manager with the e-scooter operator Tier, said developing “an inclusive sound for e-scooters will be crucial to protecting pedestrians and road users potentially made vulnerable through the introduction of this new transport mode”.

The project will build on work done by operators with disability charities and other acoustic researchers.

The chair of Transport for London’s independent disability advisory group, Joanna Wootten, said they were excited that the venture would be “breaking new ground where there are currently no standards or regulations in place”.

Dr Antonio Torija Martinez, an acoustic researcher at the University of Salford, said they had developed a standalone system with variable noises reflecting speed, but were continuing to look into “developing warning sounds for an optimal balance between noticeability and annoyance”.

Trials of legal rental e-scooter schemes continue across the UK, with the government still giving no indication of its long-term decision over the vehicle’s future. Sales of unregulated e-scooters have led to increasing numbers of crashes and deaths, according to a report from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.

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Bearing in mind we have a blind college in Hereford a compulsory warning system should be installed on these bikes. As a cyclist I find if you give pedestrians a bell warning they tend to jump the wrong way into your path.