Today (15/07/2019) CIHT participated in a roundtable with Transport Minister Michael Ellis as part of the DfT's work on the Future of Mobility regulatory review. The review is exploring how new technologies could help the UK benefit from changes in how people, goods and services move around and possible barriers to securing those benefits.  Devices such as escooters, segways, and hoverboards make up a key part of the discussions.

The questions CIHT sought to reflect our members views on included; how could these devices be integrated safely into existing transport infrastructure? What requirements should there be for devices and their users? And what lessons have been learned from other countries?

CIHT's response to the future of mobility consultation in 2018 stated that;

“CIHT recognises that in recent years many new modes of transport are being used on public streets, from electrically powered bikes, scooters and roller blades to luggage carrying autonomous pods. These all affect how people use public space, which is just as important as the built environment, with differences in speed, weight and manoeuvrability affecting perceptions of safety and comfort.

To adapt to the challenge this presents requires fresh thinking about how we share limited road space as it is clear that very few of these modes are happy sharing footway or carriageway space. For example, they could be too large and too fast for pedestrian comfort, and too small and too slow for driver preference. It will be important to investigate the development of a 'third lane' that can accommodate traditional vehicles such as bicycles and mobility scooters; as well as electric bicycles, 'hoverboards’ and electric scooters to enable more space efficient modes to thrive. To avoid difficulties over regulations specifying particular modes these could be delineated by speed, weight and mass of the vehicle.”

In light of the first publicised death of a escooter user in the UK on 12/07/2019 safety is a key concern and there have been a number of studies on scooter safety in cities where they are popular, including Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon and Santa Monica, California. These have found mixed results but raised important questions for highways professionals about how we keep users safe in a changing environment.

For more information about the future of mobility consultation you can see CIHT's full response here.