Reducing use of cars for shorter trips is vital as we look to improve London’s air quality for residents and to become carbon neutral. Electric scooters (e-scooters) are part of the solution around London including Ealing to reduce:
- Air pollution: Dangerous pollutants emitted by road transport contribute to longer term health effects ranging from severe coughing, respiratory issues, asthma, pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
- Road congestion: E-scooters can play a significant role in supporting Londoners to travel to and from their place of work, helping to reduce car journeys and so reducing congestion.
- Carbon emissions: E-scooters emit less than a privately owned car as a shared e-scooter is 34 percent less carbon emissions. Also providers like Tier are carbon neutral Micromobility in London Report, 23 September 2021
- Speed enforcement: E-scooters are limited to 12.5 mph and cannot exceed this. In some places there are lower limits and in other areas the scooter will not function.
Electric scooters also improve people’s mental health, creating positive moods and alleviating negative feelings such as stress. Using hire e-scooter’s or bikes is faster and more flexible way of travelling. It means you can change plans easily and not have to worry about how you got there, so for example no worrying about what to do with your car or bike!
In Ealing we are lucky to have a legal trial scheme and electric scooters are available to hire in several London boroughs, as part of a London-wide rental TFL e-scooter pilot delivered by Transport for London (TfL) and is currently running until June 2022. The trial covers areas in Ealing and Acton to begin with and e-scooters will only be able to be ridden in designated areas with speed restrictions in specified areas.
Hire e-scooters are the only way to legally ride an e-scooter on public roads and cycle lanes in London and only in specified areas. The rental e-scooters are provided by three operators; Dott, Lime and TIER.
To use an e-scooter:
- Download the operators app (Dott, Lime or Tier) which will have a link on the e-scooter to rent an e-scooter. To set up the account, you have to scan your driving licence and set up a way to pay, then you are good to go. Luckily you only have to do it once although you need to do it for each operator separately.
- Complete the mandatory in-app training and safety quiz before you set off.
- All operators charge £1 to unlock the e-scooter, with charges of 15p – 20p per minute afterwards.
- Option to wear a cycle helmet and some operators offer a discount for wearing a helmet.
- Riders must be 18 or over and have a full or provisional driving licence.
- The e-scooter apps have maps that clearly show where you can ride and where speed limits are. The e-scooter will change its speed depending on its location.
- Maximum speed limit will be capped to 12.5mph. Some parks allow e-scooters and the speed limit is reduced to 8 mph.
- Scooters will automatically come to a safe stop if they are driven into areas not included in the trial.
- Lights at the front and the rear of the vehicles that are always on throughout any rental.
- Parked in designated bays/areas which are clearly marked.
- Illegal for e-scooters to be ridden on the footway/pavement.
Good tip for when you first start is you can walk with the scooter to a quieter area to ride it and get used to how to safely and best ride it.
Tips from the three suppliers: Dott, Lime & Tier
- TIER rider-swappable batteries enable riders to exchange batteries at charging stations hosted in local businesses across London, allowing them to earn free trips in the process. Tier is also a climate neutral company.
- TIER introduces new pricing model for London to discourage reckless riding and save people money, such as
- Riders won’t be charged when e-scooters are stationary, for example at traffic lights
- One free minute at the beginning of each trip, so you put on their helmet and plan a safe route before setting off.
- Tackle illegal e-scooter use by offering private owners the chance to trade in their vehicles in exchange for ride credit
- Lime instructions & advice on scooter rental
- Two months free with Lime in partnership with paypal: First 27,000 paypal users will get a 60-day free trial to a subscription-based Lime Prime.
- Lime has an app clip to help with phone storage: Rent a Lime scooter without downloading or even opening the Lime app, to make it as easy as possible to hop on a scooter and go.
- Helmet selfie discount within the Lime app which allows riders who start their trip with a helmet selfie to receive a 10 per cent discount off their ride
- Dott London Guide with link to Dott e-learning online to Ride safe, with a promo code available when you complete it.
- Dott Socially inclusive solutions for Londoners: Our London discounts are here to make e-scooters accessible for all with discounts for NHS, students and Disabled people. See link for further details.
Is Training Available?
TFL has Electric scooter safety tips and guidance on what to check before riding.
E-scooter face to face training is offered by the Bikeworks
Contact details
For enquiries, rider, service, or parking complaints or comments contact the operators by:
Dott 0800 048 8993 or email support@ridedott.com
Lime 0800 808 5223 or email support@li.me
Tier 0808 164 9486 (freephone) or email support@tier.app
Need to report an e-scooter?
Should you need to report an abandoned vehicle, mis-parked e-scooter, or illegal pavement riding, please provide the date, time, location, colour of e-scooter, and e-scooter serial number, as this will help to resolve issues quicker. Report issues to the operators and the council Each e-scooter has a unique ID number which will be labelled clearly on the vehicle. Please provide this where possible as it will help to resolve issues quicker.
To provide the council with feedback about the trial, please email transportplanningservice@ealing.gov.uk
Dott e-scooters have a light blue frame colour, and red handlebars and wheels.
Call Dott on 0800 048 8993 or email support@ridedott.com.
Lime e-scooters have a green and white frame colour, and black handlebars and wheels.
Call Lime on 0800 808 5223 or email support@li.me.
TIER e-scooters have a teal and black frame colour, and black handlebars and wheels.
Call TIER on 0808 164 9486 (freephone) or email support@tier.app.
Privately owned e-scooters
It remains illegal to use privately owned e-scooters other than on private land with land-owners’ permission. The police will continue to undertake enforcement activity to deal with the illegal use of privately owned e-scooters.
Electric bikes for Hire
Lime and Tier are also offering electric bikes for hire. The Electric bikes can be booked through the same app as the e-scooters. Tier electric bikes have to be dropped off in the allocated zones, but Lime e-bikes have different rules and don’t need to be parked in a designated area .
More details on schemes: