UK lawmakers urge government to legalize e-scooters

People could soon be careering around British high streets on electric scooters after an influential committee of lawmakers recommended to government they be tolerated due to their small carbon footprint and potential to ensure large numbers of people can travel quickly and easily.

The House of Commons' cross-party transport select committee said in a report after spending months analyzing the issue that the scooters, which are known as e-scooters, should be legalized in Britain within the next 18 months.

Their only real caveat was that they must be kept off sidewalks.

The report said: "If the government supports the committee's recommendation and decides to legalize privately owned e-scooters, the law should clearly prohibit their use on (sidewalks) and ensure that such enforcement measures are effective in eliminating this behavior."

The committee noted that the UK is the only major European economy that has not legalized e-scooters.

Several UK cities and regions – including Hartlepool, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Teesside, and the West Midlands – have signed up to take part in trials of e-scooter rentals ahead of any national legalization of them.

Huw Merriman, a Conservative Party member of Parliament and the chairman of the transport select committee, told ITV News: "If this gets people out of the car, reducing congestion, and exercising in the open air, then even better. We support the government's desire to include e-scooters in the UK's transport mix and the current rental trials will provide a crucial evidence-base for future legislation."

The Guardian newspaper noted that the committee wants people to use e-scooters for short journeys that they would otherwise have used a car for. It does not want them to use e-scooters for trips they would have previously walked.

The BBC noted that the committee has also called upon the Department for Transport to report back on the frequency of e-scooter accidents.

The lawmakers also said some form of proficiency test and licensing system might be needed, but it would prefer them to be widely available. And it recommended the use of safety helmets be urged but not made compulsory. The committee also called for more studies to be carried out on how the UK can avoid clutter on the streets caused by people leaving e-scooters behind in public places at journey's end.

The Department for Transport said in a statement that e-scooters could offer an affordable, reliable, and sustainable way to travel.

"Safety will always be our top priority and our current trials are allowing us to better understand the benefits of e-scooters and their impact on public space, helping us to design future regulations," the statement said.

The AA, a major British motoring association, supported the idea of e-scooters being allowed on UK streets but said their speed should be limited and that they should be restricted to cycle paths.

The government will now consider the committee's recommendations.