Hailed as the most successful trial of its kind in England, the e-scooter scheme demonstrates the exciting potential of this green and cost-effective mode of transport being rolled out on a wider scale elsewhere across the UK.
Since 2020, the service has facilitated 12 million trips, by 430,000 users, covering a distance of 25 million km. Studies indicate up to 30% of these trips could have replaced a car journey. For the 4.15 million rides in Bristol during 2021 the carbon dioxide reduction equivalent could be up to 238 tonnes.
To support a green restart of local travel following the first pandemic lockdown, the Department for Transport approved the introduction of rental e-scooter trials in certain areas across the UK. As one of four Future Transport Zones, the West of England’s trial is part of wider plans to use the latest and most innovative technology for creating convenient, accessible alternatives to car travel.
Encouraging modal shift: positive impacts
We worked in close collaboration with the West of England Combined Authority and the trial operator to ensure the service was convenient and affordable so that local communities were more inclined to swap a car journey for an e-scooter journey. An independent monitoring and evaluation exercise highlighted that significantly more carbon emission reductions were capable with greater modal shift away from cars.
The next phase of the trial is to take the insights and move them over to also include rental e-bikes and cargo-bikes, enabling even more people to travel sustainably, helping reach the region’s target of becoming net zero by 2030.
The project data highlights how the scheme creates other positive impacts alongside contributing to reducing carbon emissions. In-depth interviews of e-scooter users highlighted:
- E-scooters had become the first mode of choice for travel within Bristol for some users
- Seven in ten of survey respondents also noted that the e-sooters contributed to their wellbeing
- Many highlighted that they chose e-scooters over other modes because it was less stressful, faster and more convenient
- 30% of users indicated an e-scooter replaces a car, taxi or ride-hail journey.
Embracing the future of transport
As part of this programme, our future mobility experts are also collaborating with the West of England Combined Authority on other schemes that embrace the future of transport including Mobility Hubs, which is trialling more community-focused transport interchanges; Mobility as a Service, which streamlines integrated journey planning and ticketing onto one smartphone app; and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), which is replacing traditional fixed bus routes by enabling drivers to be more agile and dynamic about where people are picked up enroute.