(Image: T&A)
A planned e-scooter rental scheme in Bradford city centre has been paused so the council can “get on top” of the illegal use of them in the city.
A two-year trial period that would have seen around 50 e-scooters available to rent was due to be introduced in Bradford as a follow on from the successful Beryl Bikes scheme introduced earlier this year.
But at a meeting of Bradford Council on Wednesday, the authority’s Reform UK leadership announced the scheme had been paused.
Why has the scheme been paused?
Councillor Andrew Judson, portfolio holder for economy, regeneration and planning, said he did not want legal e-scooters sharing the streets with unregulated, illegal ones.
Councillors were told the pilot scheme would be revisited once the issue with illegal e-scooters was resolved.
He acknowledged that a similar pilot had proved a success in Leeds, but told councillors “this is not Leeds.”
Trial went ahead in Leeds
Privately owned e-scooters are illegal to ride on all public roads, pavements, and shared spaces.
Despite this, they are a common site on the streets of Bradford city centre.
But certain e-scooters can be ridden in trial areas if approved by the Government.
In these trial areas, which include Leeds, scooters can be ridden on roads or cycle lanes.
Would have operated like Beryl Bikes
Bradford Council had secured permission from the Department for Transport to carry out a trial scooter scheme that would be linked to the Beryl Bikes e-bike hire scheme introduced in the city earlier this year.
That scheme saw 11,000 journeys made by 5,000 users made on the rental bikes in the first four months of its operation.
What did the report say?
Last month, the council’s Executive was given an update on the e-scooter hire scheme as part of a report into transport schemes in Bradford.
That report said: “Subject to the necessary governance and traffic regulation approvals, e-scooters will be introduced through the existing Beryl operating model and co-located with the current e-bike hub network, providing an additional sustainable travel option without the need for significant new infrastructure.
“The trial will launch with an initial fleet of 50 e-scooters and will be monitored closely to assess levels of demand, operational performance, safety and user experience.
“The initiative will provide valuable evidence on the potential role that micromobility can play in supporting first and last-mile journeys, improving access to public transport and reducing dependence on private car travel.
“Findings from the trial will be used to inform future transport policy and investment decisions within the Bradford district.”
E-scooter hire brought up at meeting
At Wednesday’s meeting of Bradford Council, leader Stephen Place gave his regular Leader’s Report, where he discussed the recent launch of the Bradford City Centre Action Partnership the day before.
That scheme brings together the council, police and other organisations in the city to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
Referring to this push to tackle city centre crime, Councillor Peter Kirk (Cons, Airedale) said: “I welcome the introduction of the City Centre Action Plan, but I’d ask the leader how he squares that with the recent decision to advance a trial of e-scooters in the city centre.
“We know e-scooters are quite closely associated with thefts and other forms of anti-social behaviour.”
Councillor Andrew Judson (Image: T&A)
Plan to get all the illegal e-scooters out of Bradford
Cllr Judson answered on behalf of the council leader, saying: “I have been asked to authorise a deployment of two years, like the Beryl Bikes, for e-scooters to come into Bradford.
“I originally asked for just six months, because I don’t want legal and illegal scooters here at the same time.
“Now we have paused the e-scooter trial permanently until I’ve decided that it is safe enough, that we’ve got all the illegal e-scooters out of Bradford altogether.
“The benefit of a (legal) e-scooter is you need a licence to drive them, so they are better safety wise.
“But we have stopped that at the moment until this new city centre initiative has got on top of the illegal activities. When we have got on top of it, we can look again at this trial."
To be sorted next year
He added: “A similar trial has worked successfully in Leeds, but need I remind everyone in here, this is not Leeds.
“We need to make sure there are the right people, the right place, the right temperament, the right temperature of the area for it to work.
“We need to get on top of the illegals, we hope to have this sorted next year.”
'Unacceptable risk to public safety'
In a statement to the Telegraph & Argus after the meeting, Cllr Judson said: “Following a successful trial in Leeds, our administration was approached to allow a two-year trial of e-scooter activity across Bradford district.
“Leeds has a very different landscape to Bradford, and as illegal e-bike and e-scooter activity is already widespread, I could not approve this request.
“At this stage, a local trial would create unacceptable risk to public safety.
"Given the recent sad death of a young resident caused by illegal activity, it would have been irresponsible to allow this trial in the immediate term.
“Any trial has now been paused until at least late spring next year, or until I have confidence that illegal e-bike and e-scooter activity has been curbed.
“We will then look to introduce a six-month trial with close monitoring to ensure compliance with our stance on public safety.”