Plea for changes to Portsmouth's e-scooter scheme to stop them being 'dumped all over the city'

It comes as Portsmouth City Council agreed to start a procurement process in which one company will be chosen to operate both micro-mobility e-scooter and e-bike schemes to increase its commercial viability and flexibility in meeting demand. Beryl manages electric and manual bikes in Portsmouth, while Voi handles rental scooters. Since the March 2021 launch, 81,000 people have used e-scooters, and Beryl Bikes, introduced in October 2022, have been used by 9,400 people.

At a recent meeting, councillor Simon Bosher raised concerns over an undocked scheme – meaning they do not need to be placed in docking stations at the end of their use – being chosen during the procurement process, resulting in scooters being “dumped all over the city”. Councillor Bosher suggested that consulting with cabinet member for transport, councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, as well as members of the opposition during procurement would prevent this issue.

Following the meeting, Portsmouth City Council said the current e-scooter scheme sees 96 per cent of scooters returned to docks at the end of journeys. It says this is one of the highest parking compliance rates in the country.

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Cllr Graham Heaney highlighted a study by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety which found that data collected about e-scooter accidents “is not as good as it can be”. He then asked officers if the council is “confident” in the data it receives. In response, Gareth James, the leader of the transport strategy team, expressed confidence and cited recent analysis by the Transport Research Laboratory indicating a downward trend in accidents involving rental e-scooters in Portsmouth.

The procurement process will start for existing schemes in Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and other Hampshire regions in the Solent Future Transport Zone. By Spring, four operators will bid to appoint a single operator by Summer this year. In December 2023, more than 6,200 people used a fleet of 641 Voi scooters between 126 parking docks across the city.

From March 2021 to December last year Voi had over 80,000 users who travelled a total distance of 2,388,304 km – equivalent to three round trips from Earth to the Moon. By comparison, rental e-bikes were used by 9,447 people between October 2022 and December last year, travelling a total of 119,451km.