E-scooters coming to Brighton after pilot approved

The rollout of an e-scooter trial has been approved by Brighton & Hove City Council.

The scheme will make 400 e-scooters available to hire from 37 hubs across the city, possibly as early as this summer.

It follows a six-week consultation last year, which generated almost 1,300 responses.

Some people have raised concerns about possible safety risks, although others have argued they offer a convenient and affordable mode of transport that reduces car use and improves air quality.

Sarah Gayton, street access campaign coordinator for the National Federation of the Blind UK, called e-scooters an "absolute nightmare".

"Blind, visually impaired people do not know where those scooters are coming from [as] they cannot hear them.

"They are extremely dangerous," she told BBC Radio Sussex.

"There are numerous people who have been killed or injured - both pedestrians and riders."

Brighton & Hove City Councillor Trevor Muten said the trial - which is set to run for up to two years until September 2029 - was "highly regulated".

"We have thought through and recognised the concerns of many [residents]," he said.

Muten added their maximum speed was "curbed" to 12.5mph, which drops to 6.5mph between midnight and 05:00 during weekdays.

E-scooters will be unavailable between midnight and 05:00 on weekends.

Muten told BBC Radio Sussex there would also be go-slow and no-go areas, such as pavements.

E-scooters would be linked to hubs where Beryl bikes are stored so they cannot be "dumped on pavements".

Only people aged 17 and over and holding a minimum of a provisional driving licence will be able to hire an e-scooter, the council has also said.

Ben Small, owner of Small Street Escooters in Portslade, said the trial could "only be a good thing".

He said the "big problem" at the moment was the illegal use of privately-owned e-scooters as it is against the law to ride them on public roads and pavements.

"With a rental scheme... hopefully people will come to accept them," he added.

"It is about monitoring and making sure people are sensible on e-scooters at the end of the day."

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