IN Scotland, the use of electric scooters in public spaces is simultaneously illegal and entirely commonplace.
Spend long enough in the streets of nearly any city and you’re more than likely to come across somebody careering along the road or pavement to the soundtrack of a faint electrical hum.
Media coverage of so-called e-scooters tends to focus solely on their capacity to irritate, combust or harm.
Yet in a country that’s striving to dramatically reduce carbon emissions coming from the transport sector, is the demonisation of an energy-efficient, pollution-free vehicle really wise?
Should we all be getting on-board e-scooters?
Legal limbo
Iain McCallum, the founder of Elite Scooters Scotland, first heard about e-scooters from his then 11-year-old son in 2019.
“He asked me if he could get one, but I had no idea what they were,” he told the Sunday National.
“He ended up showing me a video and I told him: ‘No, you’ll get yourself killed. Forget it.’”
But teenage boys are nothing if not determined when it comes to pestering their parents for a new gadget.
“He persisted and persisted and eventually we compromised to the point where a £350 e-scooter was purchased," McCallum went on.
“That negotiation included the wearing of a helmet and, as much as he loathed them, elbow and knee pads.”
Perhaps predictably and despite the vast expense, his son’s obsession with the e-scooter lasted all of two months before it ended up languishing in the garage of the family home in Kilmarnock.
One evening, however, Iain decided that he’d give the e-scooter a shot himself.
“At the time, we had four kids in the house and went through a lot of milk,” he said.
“We lived at the bottom of a hill with the nearest Tesco about a 15-minute walk away.
“More often than not I’d take the car and it would drive me crazy, having to use the car every other day just to run to the shops.
“I thought, I’m going to see if this thing has a practical use. So, off I went with my backpack.
“It took me three minutes there and three minutes back. That’s where my love was born.”
Iain, like many other enthusiasts, believed the technology could be genuinely transformative when it came to short journeys.
He started the family business selling e-scooters and bikes alongside his full-time job in management in January 2023.
Since then, he’s sold scooters to a whole range of clientele.
“We’ve had customers with mobility issues and disabilities like MS,” he said.
“We’ve had corporate types who use it for their daily commute because of the rising cost of fuel.
“We’ve had folk who just like it as a piece of technology.
“We even had one guy who couldn’t afford a £2000 motorised attachment for his wheelchair and was curious about a more affordable option.
“I was sceptical that he’d even be able to use an e-scooter but he managed. He bought one similar to my son’s and he loves it because of the independence it gives him.”
Although those that purchase an e-scooter from Iain do so entirely legally, he is forced to send them away with a warning.
The law in Scotland currently states that e-scooters can only be ridden on private property with the landowner’s permission.
In theory, the police are perfectly free to prosecute anyone caught riding them elsewhere (which they occasionally do).
This is despite Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop having previously stated that they will “inevitably” be legalised in public spaces.
“It’s just the UK and the Netherlands that don’t have a settled legal status for e-scooters,” said Richard Dilks, chief executive of community transport charity CoMoUK.
“Every other comparable country in Europe does.”
Trials and benefits
Shared e-scooter trial schemes have been rolled out in more than 30 towns and cities in England since 2020.
In Scotland, there’s been zero.
“The Scottish Government is aiming to achieve a 20% reduction in kilometres covered by car journeys by the end of the decade,” said Dilks.
“We know that no single mode of transport is going to be the solution. It’s about providing an attractive and varied package of options that isn’t private car use.
“But there’s been a number of these trials in England and they’ve proved to be very successful.
“It’s a great shame that Scotland hasn’t got any.”
Since June 2020, more than 42 million trips have been taken on-board shared e-scooters as part of England’s trial schemes.
They’ve also allowed local authorities to collect data and gain experience on the niggles and hazards that arise with the introduction of any new form of transport.
“They’ve learned about appropriate wheel size, braking mechanisms, power outputs, curfews, riding on cobblestones, vandalism,” added Dilks.
“Scotland doesn’t have on-the-ground experience with any of that.”
The nuisance factor
It’s undeniable that e-scooters can be a nuisance.
Their adoption by gangs of young people sporting balaclavas and zipping through city centres without regard for the safety of pedestrians hardly does wonders for their image.
But Liam Byrne, a 21-year-old e-scooter rider in Glasgow, said the lack of regulation and infrastructure ends up harming those who use them safely, respectfully and in ways which reduce reliance on cars.
“I always wear a helmet, full safety gear and follow the rules of the road,” he said.
“It seems like if you do that then police, for the most part, are willing to ignore it.
“However, at the moment you’re not allowed to take them on public transport because of the risk of fire.
“Yet it’s not the scooters from reputable brands that are catching fire.
“A blanket ban on public transport doesn’t solve problems like cheap, dangerous imports or modifications.
“We need regulation to do that.”
Byrne added that the infrastructure for bicycles and e-scooters also needed to be improved drastically to encourage more responsible behaviour.
“The only reason people are riding them on pavements right now is because the current infrastructure is completely inadequate for bikes, let alone e-scooters.”
What happens next
It’s a tragedy which highlights the perilous nature of any new form of transport suddenly appearing on our pavements and roads.
However, it’s a situation that isn’t helped by the evident uncertainty surrounding their use and legality in Scotland.
“We need clear guidance and clear instruction,” said Iain.
“If it’s inevitable that they’ll be introduced into public spaces, then let’s get on with it.”
