Crash triggers debate on resuming e-scooter trial

Ginger removed its e-scooters from Great Yarmouth in January 2024, blaming the government for continually extending trials

A crash involving a man on a privately-owned e-scooter has triggered a debate about their future in a Norfolk town.

Norfolk Police has appealed for dashcam footage of the moments leading up to the crash at the St Peter's Road and King Street junction in Great Yarmouth on Saturday.

A man in his 50s was taken to the James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston, with life-threatening injuries after a collision with a grey Ford Focus. He was later said to be in a critical but stable condition.

The accident happened six months after licensed operator Ginger removed its e-scooters from the town, blaming the government for repeatedly extending trial periods.

Both the Conservative and the Labour groups on Great Yarmouth Borough Council say licensed e-scooters should return, but the owner of the Pleasure Beach says they should be permanently removed from the road.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader Carl Smith said the authority was working to get another e-scooter operator signed up

The police have not commented on the legality of the e-scooter being ridden by the injured man, but the force has made clear that only officially licensed hire scooters can be used on public roads.

Carl Smith, the Conservative leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said he had lobbied the previous government about granting a permanent licence for e-scooter hire operators.

"We said we would like to get the trials made so they became permanent. Not only e-scooters but e-bikes, which are a bit more stable," he said.

"We are still trying to do that, and are working with various people, actively trying to find another operator, as we know lots of people use them."

Mr Smith wished the injured man a full and swift recovery, but added: "He would have been insured [on a legal scooter] but obviously we haven't got any licensed scooters in the town.

"All these people flying about the town on these scooters are illegal. They are lethal. Police can confiscate them if they see them. It's as simple as that."

Labour group leader Trevor Wainwright said legal, licensed scooters should return to Great Yarmouth

Trevor Wainwright, the leader of the Labour group on the council, also said he hoped the man made a full recovery.

But he added: "I think it's disappointing we haven't got an operator in Great Yarmouth that could run a legal system as Ginger did.

"I believe other providers are being talked to, but it is of grave concern that illegal scooters are being used on a public highway, which comes with inherent risks. It's like driving a car with no insurance.

"Ginger would still have been in Great Yarmouth had the previous Conservative government not kept pushing the trial back and back.

"They just pulled out, asking 'Where are we going with this?' and I don't think they were prepared to put in any more investment without seeing an end date to the trial."

Albert Jones, of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, urged police to tackle the use of illegal scooters

But the owner of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach said the trial should not resume, and he urged police to tackle the use of private e-scooters.

"I'd be dead against [licensed scooters returning], and I think this [incident] proves a point," he said.

"We've had so many near misses. You speak to the landau operators – they were spooking the horses, weaving in and out of the horses.

"You've got people who are responsible, but others who are irresponsible and double up on them. I even see people taking the kids to school on them.

"I've seen it with my own eyes. It's an accident waiting to happen. If you Google e-scooter fatalities, the list is getting longer – even if they made them wear crash helmets.

"The police need to be more active. I know the police have got enough to do but they know they're illegal."

Council chief executive Sheila Oxtoby said operators wanted to bring e-scooters and e-bikes to the town, but they were waiting for a government decision

Council chief executive Sheila Oxtoby said: "We've been back out to tender since Ginger unfortunately pulled out.

"We have got some interest, but all of the previous schemes have been pilots, and so [the scooter operators] are waiting to see what the new government's view will be.

"We are hopeful they will continue. We think they're a great mode of transport; they're a green way of getting around and we know that [for] young people getting to and from college, they're getting popular.

"And we would rather people use licensed scooters than private scooters that are illegal."