Over 120 rides taken in first week of escooter trial in Aylesbury and Wycombe
Buckinghamshire Council and Zipp have partnered for this scheme
Aylesbury and Wycombe have been chosen as sites for an escooter trial.
Buckinghamshire Council and Zipp have partnered for an escooter trial that launched earlier this month.
The scheme is part of a 12-month trial that is fully approved by the Department for Transport.
Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Sports and Leisure, Clive Harriss said:
"During lockdown, people must adhere to the rules and stay at home if at all possible, that's the safest place for everyone and the best way to reduce the spread of the virus.
"That said, we know some people may have no choice but to make local trips like getting to and from work for example. E-scooters give people an option to make those journeys in a different and easier way, particularly with less traffic on the roads during the current lockdown period."
The scooters feature additional safety features including lights, a wide riding deck, front suspension and airless tyres.
Each scooter also has anti-viral hand grips and will be subject to additional cleaning and sanitising by local Zipp technicians.
Peter from Zipp says they understand people in Buckinghamshire may be a bit cautious:
"I'd ask people to just be patient and understand there are going to be things that may come up as we go on.
"With behavioural issues of places they would/wouldn't want to see the scooters but we are very quick to change schemes and move things around.
"In our era of Covid this gives people comfortability in getting from one place to another, it just gives them a bit more freedom.
"The sense of the trials in the UK is to see what works and what doesn't work."
The Zipp Mobility e-scooters will be using geofencing technology to prevent riders from going into wholly pedestrian areas or onto major roads. If they try, the scooter motors will slow down to a standstill - until they return to a permitted riding route.
The maximum speed limit is 15.5 mph and it is possible to use the technology to automatically reduce speeds and create slow zones in specified areas.