E-scooters will be whizzing around Salford for another two years after a trial was extended again.
Lime's contract was initially pushed until November 2022 - despite initial concerns by councillors. However, it has since been extended again until May 2024.
Some 430,000 trips have been made across the city, including 270,000 in the last year.
Hal Stevenson, senior public affairs manager for Lime UK, said: “We’ve really enjoyed working with Salford City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. Residents have truly embraced e-scooters into their daily lives and this is a step in the direction as we look to take more cars off roads.
“E-scooters are becoming an integral part of Greater Manchester’s sustainable transport infrastructure more broadly too. As public confidence in the scheme continues to grow , we’re looking forward to continuing to develop Lime’s presence in the community.”
Nicola Kane, head of strategic planning, research and innovation at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The trial has provided an opportunity for Greater Manchester to be at the forefront of transport innovation, providing insights into how shared e-scooters can contribute to the Bee Network vision and help achieve our strategic goals set out in the 2040 Transport Strategy.
"This report provides us with a detailed evidence base to help evaluate the future role of shared e-scooters in Greater Manchester”.
It follows the launch of the University of Salford’s Healthy Active Cities research, studying e-scooter use in the Greater Manchester area. According to the research, 68% of respondents believe that there should be an e-scooter hire scheme across Greater Manchester, and 59% believe the scheme will make the area a more attractive place to live.
The report also states that 4 out of 10 riders are using e-scooters to connect with public transport, and some have turned to e-scooters as an option when public transport is unavailable such as travelling to and from shift work. The study is the first of its kind and the largest study on e-scooters in the UK to date, with over 2,400 survey responses, 49 one-on-one interviews, and 13 focus groups.
Dr Graeme Sherriff, from University of Salford, said: “We’ve found it really interesting to look at the ways in which people are building e-scooters into their travel routines. People value the ability to pick up an e-scooter to make a short journey, and then drop them off on arrival.
"Our report highlights challenges, not least perceptions of risk in busy traffic and in shared use areas. It therefore adds to the evidence base supporting the provision of more high quality infrastructure for walking, cycling and scooting.“
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