There is confidence e-scooters 'will be here to stay' in Nottingham after it was described as being 'one of the most popular e-scooter cities in the world.
According to one of the global chief for the company that runs them in the city, a total of 1.25million e-scooter rides recorded since the trial began in October 2020.
Superpedestrian is an American company set up in 2013. The company took over the Nottingham scheme when it absorbed the company previously responsible for running it,WIND, towards the end of last year.
The company operates a number of programmes in cities across the UK and Europe.
After its initial launch, Nottingham's Government trial scheme was extended to November 2022..
The Nottingham City Council backed Government scheme allows users to legally ride an e-scooter in public space. Privately-owned electronic scooters are not allowed on any non-private land or highway.
For it to go beyond November 2022, the Department for Transport will need to legislate for their permanent use, as the schemes across the UK are currently in a trial period.
Speaking at a recent training event run by Superpedestrian and Scoot Fit, Haya Verwoord Douidri, vice president (global market expansion, policy and strategy) at Superpedestrian, is confident that e-scooters will be here to stay.
Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, she said: "We think of Nottingham as our flagship city for EMEA, which is why we're bringing 'Pedestrian Defense' and want to invest as much as possible to show how a scooter programme should be run and expand across the UK.
"We definitely hope it will become a permanent fixture here, seeing how popular it is and how successful it has been at achieving mode shift, I'm quite confident this programme will be here to stay.
"If we can help connect more of the outskirts of the city with the city centre, that would be great too, and eventually we want to cover the whole county.
"But the focus for now is having a successful programme in the UK, and keep providing and sharing data with how the scheme is going.
"We still encourage helmet use, but helmets are not included on the new e-scooters because bringing your own is the safest option, and in Nottingham they were only unlocked and used on four per cent of rides."
Pedestrian Defense is the name given to new AI-based (artificial intelligence) software that will detect unsafe riding behaviour, such as sidewalk riding, stunt riding and swerving through traffic, and automatically slow or stop the scooter.
The technology works by using precise location data to detect where the vehicle is and how it is being ridden, and it then reacts accordingly, either slowing the vehicle or stopping it in its tracks, even if the throttle is applied.
Haya says the company is keen to introduce this technology to Nottingham first because of how popular the scheme has been.
She said: "Nottingham is one of the most popular e-scooter cities in the world, it's impressive how many people have taken them and use them for their day-to-day rise.
"The scheme is five times as popular here as it is in London, and walking around Nottingham and scooting around, it's the perfect scooter city, such as having good infrastructure.
"And this is still a pilot project, imagine what it would be like if more of these are rolled out and the trial is successful.
"Scooters need to find their way on the road, but to people who are unsure about them, try them, as you will have a big smile on your face."
Within the trial period, more e-scooters could be introduced in the coming months.
Jean Andrews, policy director in the UK and Ireland for Superpedestrian, said: "We have been talking to Nottingham City Council about potentially increasing the number of e-scooters within the current licence.
"As we approach the busy summer season, there is the scope for more popularity.
"There have been great strides in Nottingham for building better cycle lane infrastructure where e-scooters can be used, but more can still be done, not just here but in lots of other cities.
"I think the legislation to introduce them more permanently is taking a little longer than expected, but hopefully the trials will continue for now in some respect; whatever the outcome, we're keen to remain in Nottingham."
New e-scooters with the Pedestrian Defense technology could also be rolled out, with up to 75.
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