Portsmouth e-scooter trial: Extra parking spaces to be added

The e-scooters are available for hire in Portsmouth using a phone app

More than 250 new e-scooter parking spaces are to be added to Portsmouth's trial hire scheme.

Operator Voi said there had been more that 372,000 rides on e-scooters in the city since the project launched in 2021.

Thirty two new parking racks will be installed at locations, including Milton Common and Eastney Beach.

Voi's Jim Hubbard said they would make e-scooter use "more convenient and accessible for all".

Riders currently have access to 900 parking spaces at 75 racks across the city. The extra racks will add a total of 260 spaces.

Voi said rides on e-scooters had replaced more than 165,000 short car journeys in the city, helping to save an estimated 87 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

'Daily routine'

Mr Hubbard said the scheme had so far "helped change Portsmouth for the better".

"It has never been easier for more people to hop on and off, leave their cars at home, and most importantly, tackle the impacts of climate change," he added.

Lynne Stagg, cabinet member for transport at Portsmouth City County, said: "The latest figures on rental e-scooter use show that people are using them as part of their daily routine, which is what we hoped would happen, and I'm pleased to see people are using them with other modes of public transport."

Evidence gathered throughout similar trial schemes across the country will be evaluated by the Department for Transport as it considers whether to legalise e-scooters.

Safety concerns have been raised, including by the charity National Federation of the Blind of the UK which has called for the trial to be halted, saying e-scooters' presence on pavements was "dangerous".

Currently, privately-owned e-scooters are banned in the UK, except on private land.