Fifty electric scooters will be made available for key workers travelling to and from work in Derby during a 12-month trial starting this month.
Wind Mobility has been chosen to operate schemes in both Derby and Nottingham, offering a new, greener travel option to help mitigate congestion, improve air quality and provide affordable travel options.
Key workers will be able to hire an e-scooter, at a discounted rate of £30 per month, for a minimum of a month, and up to one year.
As part of the response to COVID-19, the Department for Transport (DfT) has made changes that allow e-scooters to be used on public roads, using the same road space as cyclists. These legislation changes only apply to DfT approved schemes and not privately owned e-scooters.
Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transportation at Derby City Council, said: “I am pleased that Derby has been selected to trial this Government scheme, which means that e-scooters are a new alternative choice for green travel in our city. There’s no doubt that they offer a cheap and clean way to travel around Derby, improving not just the air quality in our city, but also the user’s physical and mental health at a time when that is more important than ever.
“There are likely to be a few teething problems to work out, as you’d expect with the introduction of new transport modes. We’ve listened and will continue to listen to any feedback as the trial progresses. Hearing the views and experiences of the users themselves, cyclists, other road users and pedestrians is going to be vital to the trial’s success. E-scooters are certainly becoming a more popular choice for people, so it’ll be interesting to see whether they’re embraced and become as common as bicycles in Derby!”
Eric Wang, CEO and co-founder of Wind Mobility, added: “Winning the tender to operate in Derby and Nottingham is a true honour. Wind brings wealth of experience, with over 40 city launches across Europe, Middle East and Asia. We have fine-tuned the recipe for a successful trial in the East Midlands. Safety, stability and sustainability are the three Ss that guide Wind’s considerate and inclusive approach to working with cities. We want our service to benefit all members of the community, and help make cities even greater places to live, work and visit. User training and education are key to a successful trial, which is why we are conducting several public safety events per month where our teams demonstrate how to use the scooter correctly. Our dedicated local teams work around the clock to swiftly move in and reposition any wrongly parked scooters and will engage with the community to respond to its questions and concerns.”