‘There are lessons to learn’ – Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees calls for safer e-scooter use
The Mayor of Bristol has praised the rollout of e-scooters in the city but admits they could be used more safely.
It comes after a woman was left with serious injuries after being hit by a car while on an e-scooter on Tuesday 18 May.
Marvin Rees expects e-scooters to become a "permanent feature" of Bristol but acknowledges people must be more vigilant when travelling through the city.
He said: "There are lessons to learn. We have to look at how they’re managed in space, how they’re left to make sure they’re not blocking pavements and causing a hazard.
"So the technology that Voi have, we want them to make better use of that and we need to talk to them about that and the storage when they’re not in use.
"I hope whoever’s been knocked over gets a quick recovery as well."
Voi introduced e-scooters to Bath and Bristol in October 2020 and they have become popular for people in the cities.
Mr Rees, who uses the e-scooters himself, offered advice to people travelling through the city to avoid accidents .
He added: "The advice to everyone, however you’re travelling, travel as though there are other people travelling at the same time.
"When I drive my car, I drive as though I might have to stop, and scooter riders need to do the same and obviously need to act sensibly when they are on the road."
Mr Rees also reflected on the challenges of meeting Bristol’s target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030 and believes e-scooters are evidence that changes can be made.
He said: "It’s a massive challenge but the scale of ambition meets to scale of urgency and the scale of consequences if we don’t meet those kind of targets."
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