The Newcastle e-scooter trial has reached a two year milestone, which comes after a new agreement was made between Newcastle City Council and Neuron Mobility that extends it until May of 2024.
As part of this new agreement, several changes have been made to the service so it can continue to run smoothly and be more accessible to everyone, including transitioning to a new parking system and discounts to open it up to people on lower incomes.
Neuron have also revealed that people have ridden over a million miles on the e-scooters since the beginning of the trial in 2021, with tens of thousands of people making journeys on them to work, the shops or appointments.
A recent report from Neuron has also suggested that the e-scooters have enabled riders to spend £8.9 million a year at local businesses, which has helped to boost Newcastle's economy.
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97% of users have said that Neuron have created a positive impact on the city according to a recent survey. The new changes made to further develop the trial should help to continue this positive impact.
One of these, the new parking system, requires riders to end their rental at one of hundreds of conveniently placed designated parking areas. This has now been expanded to cover the full service area after a successful trial in Jesmond and the city centre since December of last year.
Neuron has also started the UK's first e-scooter apprenticeship scheme which will allow local young people to gain work experience in this new evolving micro mobility industry and the opportunity to learn new skills that will be transferable into their future careers.
Cormac Quinn, UK General Manager at Neuron Mobility, has spoken about the partnership and the changes that have been made as a result of the new agreement with Newcastle City Council.
"We are delighted to be celebrating our second anniversary in Newcastle after a successful two years of operating in the city. We would like to thank the council, our safety partners, and most of all the people of Newcastle for playing their part in making the scheme an essential part of the city’s transport network.
“Our e-scooters have travelled over a million miles so far and have replaced thousands of car journeys, saving over one hundred tonnes of CO2 since we launched in February 2021. Studies show that seven out of 10 trips result in a purchase and we are delighted that local businesses and venues are recognising the benefits of our e-scooters for the city."
Cllr Jane Byrne, Cabinet Member for a Connected Clean City at Newcastle City Council, has also spoken about how the scheme has helped people in Newcastle and how it will continue into the coming year.
“We’re pleased to see local residents are using e-scooters as a convenient way to get around, while leaving the car at home. They have become an essential part of our efforts to improve Newcastle’s air quality and tackle climate change.
“Neuron has worked closely with us and with local councillors and communities to bring about improvements to the scheme in response to public feedback. This has included the welcome introduction of new parking arrangements to ensure e-scooters are left in a safe and appropriate place at the end of a journey.
“We've also very proud that our work with Neuron is helping those with lower incomes to use e-scooters while also ensuring that e-scooters are integrated into the city’s public transport system.
“We look forward to continuing our work with Neuron to make the trial a continuing success in 2023.”
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