Question reference: S6W-05219
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 20 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 January 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow e-scooter trials, similar to those currently being piloted in England.
Answer
Whilst the use of powered transporters and decisions around their introduction and associated legislative changes are primarily a matter for the UK Government, additional legislation and associated guidance would be required in Scotland to allow trials to take place.
This was not factored in to the timescale for the trials programme originally set by the Department for Transport (DfT), and as a result the trials currently taking place in England could not be hosted by Scottish local authorities.
The UK Government has signalled its intention to publish proposals in 2022 for potential further legalisation of e-scooters beyond the current trials. The Scottish Government is engaged with the DfT policy team responsible for the e-scooter trial and once more is known, we will consider any such proposals and continue to monitor trends as a matter of course in order to inform future policy on e-scooters.