Erm, e-scooters could be coming to Cardiff and Swansea soon

E-scooters could be coming to Cardiff and Swansea.

Cardiff and Swansea councils have formally expressed interest in launching electric scooter trials. This news comes 10 months after Nextbike ended its contract early with Cardiff after 3,000 bikes were stolen or vandalised over five years.

Speaking with WalesOnline, Voi, the Swedish firm responsible for the e-scooters, said it’s had “positive” discussions with both Cardiff and Swansea regarding the trials but said there are no “concrete” plans yet.

The Welsh Government has also said that it is “happy to engage” with councils who want to change the law to allow for an e-scooter hire trial, despite the illegal use of e-scooters being common in Wales.

E-scooters are illegal on public roads in the UK, except in areas where a trial is taking place, but there have been 22 e-scooter trials in England since 2020.

Supporters of e-scooters have stressed their environmental benefits saying that they are they are a low-emission, fun and relatively cheap mode of transport. Prices of the scooters are said to vary between 16p to 24p for a minute of riding.

However, concerns over the behaviour of e-scooter riders have been raised, especially among visually impaired people. This is due to illegal pavement riding, which has led to nearly three-quarters of people with sight loss having had a negative experience with an e-scooter, according to Andrea Gordon from Guide Dogs Cymru.

But, what do students think about the potential scheme? Well, we asked some of our readers about their thoughts on the potential E-scooter scheme, and here’s what they had to say.

“I think it’s a great affordable way for students to move around Cardiff, especially those who are in further accommodations like Uni Halls, as Ubers can be so expensive,” Lucy, a third-year student said.

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Kayla, who’s studying at Cardiff Uni held a similar opinion adding: “I don’t know why Cardiff took so long to add them really. Walking 40 minutes into Cathays from the city centre is not a shout, I’ll definitely be scooting around”.

Whereas, another student, Annalise highlighted her serious concerns over the E-scooter plans saying: “I don’t like the idea of e-scooters because they are dangerous. They are too fast, and without proper protection, serious accidents could happen, especially if people are riding them when they are drunk”.

A Cardiff council spokesman said: “The council has expressed an interest to carry out an e-scooter trial to the UK Department for Transport, but that doesn’t mean that a trial will take place. It just gives the council the opportunity to explore this option, as we continue to research possible schemes to replace the Nextbike scheme.”

A Welsh Government spokesman added: “The introduction of a trial scheme in Wales would be the responsibility of UK Government subject to legislative amendments by Welsh Government. We would be happy to engage with any Welsh local authority to explore the legislative amendments required but we have not yet been approached.”

Feature image credit: Unsplash