LEGAL electric scooters and e-bikes will arrive on the streets of Yate and Chipping Sodbury tomorrow as a regional hire scheme expands into the area.
The towns are the latest to be included in the WESTscoot and WESTbike hire scheme in South Gloucestershire.
People will be able to try a ride between 1pm and 4pm tomorrow (Friday August 22) outside the Armadillo next to Yate Leisure Centre where Dott, the current operator of the trial scheme, will have a pop-up stand
News that the hire scheme would reach Yate and Sodbury was first announced in June by Metro Mayor Helen Godwin, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet councillor Chris Willmore and Iqbal Ahmed from operator Dott.
The distinctive light turquoise Dott vehicles have been available in Frampton Cotterell, Winterbourne and Coalpit Heath since July.
E-bikes and e-scooters have been widely used in Bristol and Bath since launching in 2020, and almost 10,000 rides are already made every day.
‘Handy for shorter journeys’
The mayor said: “People across Yate and Chipping Sodbury now have the chance to try an e-bike or e-scooter to make sustainable local journeys with Dott, with the support of South Gloucestershire Council.
“These vehicles have quickly become a big part of our transport mix, and should be handy for local residents for shorter journeys in the two towns and beyond.
“We want convenient travel for some people not to inconvenience others. That’s why our combined authority is working with councils to roll out more marked parking areas to keep things tidy, and investing in more cycle lanes so that there are fewer e-bikes and e-scooters on roads and pavements.”
Safety campaign
Ms Godwin and police & crime commissioner Clare Moody recently launched a campaign called Scoot Safe campaign to remind people hiring the e-scooters that tandem riding is banned, and anybody caught doing so will be blocked from using the app in future.
Similar bans apply to letting other people use a licence in the app.
The minimum age to hire an e-bike is 16. To ride an e-scooter, users must be 18 or over and have at least a provisional driving licence.
Riders are bound by the Highway Code and all of the Dott e-scooters are GPS-connected and equipped with registration plates, which can be used to identify people misusing them.
The Mayor said: “Our ScootSafe campaign with the Police & Crime Commissioner, and more enforcement from operator Dott, will ban users who engage in two-up riding and issue fines for poor parking.
“These efforts, coupled with giving more people the option to use the e-bikes and e-scooters, should help strike a better balance for everyone.”
‘Have a go’
Cllr Willmore said: “We’re really pleased that local people in Yate and Chipping Sodbury will now be able to experience this pilot scheme.
“We want to encourage people to have a go with these clean, green and cost-effective ways to get around their towns as an alternative to driving.
“We are also pleased to see the focus on making sure users of the scheme are safe, for themselves as well as other road users and pedestrians.
“We will be listening to feedback from the pilot before decisions are made about the future to make sure it works for local people.”
Mr Ahmed said: “We’re thrilled to bring our e-bikes and e-scooters to Yate and Chipping Sodbury, helping another 30,000 residents choose sustainable transport for their everyday journeys.
“As always, our focus remains to provide a safe and reliable service, and we are working hand in hand with the Mayoral Combined Authority and South Gloucestershire Council to ensure our vehicles are well-integrated into the community and safely used by everyone.”
More details of the Yate and Sodbury scheme can be found here.
Picture: Dott UK’s Iqbal Ahmed with Metro Mayor Helen Godwin and council cabinet member Chris Willmore when the expansion was first announced in June