Newcastle set for e-scooter trial in 2021
Newcastle City Council and e-scooter operator, Neuron Mobility, have announced an e-scooter trial for Newcastle in early 2021, subject to government approval.
Early next year Neuron will deploy 250 safety-first e-scooters in Newcastle and that number will increase significantly throughout the 12-month trial, it claims. The distinctive orange e-scooters will provide Newcastle residents with a safe, socially-distanced and environmentally-friendly way to travel around the city, adds Neuron.
The e-scooters are GPS-enabled and Neuron and Newcastle City Council will use Geofencing technology to control where they are ridden and parked, and how fast they can travel in certain areas by creating slow-zones, no-ride zones and no-parking zones. Each e-scooter will be fitted with a unique license plate for easy identification and to promote responsible use.
Neuron will deploy a dedicated safety team as part of the trial. They will be armed with hospital-grade disinfectant to keep e-scooters and helmets clean and germ-free. Teams will be moving e-scooters to where they are needed most, assisting new riders with signing up on the app, and will deliver practical tips for safe riding.
Says Zachary Wang, CEO of Neuron Mobility:
“We are delighted to partner with Newcastle City Council to launch their first e-scooter trial. Newcastle is an incredibly vibrant and forward-thinking city and it was recently highlighted as the UK city most prepared for an e-scooter revolution – it is very exciting.”
He continues: “Safety is our top priority, it dictates our e-scooter design and also the way we operate them. Our e-scooters are packed with cutting-edge safety features and our safety course and riding guidelines have been co-developed with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the UK’s leading accident prevention charity.”
Adds Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality at Newcastle City Council:
“We’re looking forward to working with Neuron to develop our proposals for an e-scooter trial in Newcastle. Reducing transport-related carbon emissions and air pollution is an urgent priority and this trial would help us to understand what role e-scooters could play in helping us to achieve this.”
Neuron’s next-generation N3 e-scooters, which have already been deployed in Slough, have larger, 11.5” wheels and wider footplates than other e-scooters. They also come with an app-controlled Helmet Lock which secures a safety helmet to the e-scooter, electronically releasing it to use at the start of the booking.
The company will use a topple detection feature that alerts Neuron’s operations team if an e-scooter has been left on its side so it can quickly be repositioned safely. There will also be a range of ‘smart parking’ initiatives to control and promote safe parking.
