Electric scooters are becoming a familiar sight in Dundee and a law change could see even more being ridden in the city.
There are more than 1.5 million private e-scooters in the UK.
But this number could see a rapid growth if the UK Government passes new legislation allowing them to be used in public places.
Advocates of e-scooters cite their accessibility as a mode of transport.
The scooters have an average range of 30 miles and have batteries that can be charged for as little as 50p.
Many can also be purchased for only £300.
“E-scooters are efficient, cost-effective, easy to maintain and store, and good for the environment”, says Mark Bain, owner of e-scooter business Skootz.
“The government has said that e-scooters will be legal in the UK.
“And once that happens the benefits are huge.”
Skootz made buying and maintaining e-scooters in Tayside that bit easier when it opened its Dundee store last month.
However, Dundee has seen incidents involving e-scooter riders in recent months, with some of these resulting in injuries.
What are the current laws on e-scooter use?
It is currently illegal to ride an e-scooter in a public place or on a public road in the UK.
They are also considered to have the same legal standing as a motorbike or car, meaning a license and insurance is required.
This means using an e-scooter on a pavement or in a cycle lane is also illegal.
It is only legal to use them on private land.
Mark says that the current legislation on e-scooters has made turning a profit in the e-scooter business “tough”.
He realised there was significant demand for a store in Dundee, with many local riders using one of the company’s two existing outlets in Edinburgh.
“The difficulty is there is no legislation in place”, says Mark.
“This means there is only a small pool of customers that will buy scooters.
“There are the ones that have private land that they can use.
“And then you’ve got another small group, who are a little bit lawless and will take the risk.
“We tell everybody that they should be using them on private land with the owners’ permission.
“The legislation is going through and they (UK Government) have started the process.
“We are very transparent on what the current law is, but it is holding us back.”
Will changing the laws help police e-scooters in Dundee?
Safety regulations and advertising the current laws are a significant part of Skootz’s customer service.
The Dundee store gives away free helmets with every e-scooter it sells and reminds customers of the law.
“We absolutely drive home the use of a helmet and we have the law on the A-frames on the wall in the shop”, says Mark.
“The legislation is also printed on every receipt and is beside every product on our website.”
‘You get a lot of public policing’
Mark is also worried about members of the public taking action against law abiding e-scooter riders.
He gives examples of two responsible Skootz customers in Dundee – an elderly lady and a carer – who had been stopped and told they were illegally using their e-scooters.
“The instant reaction at the moment to them is that they are not legal and you get a lot of public policing”, says Mark.
“And the big problem with the way the law is written is that anything that is self-propelled is a vehicle.
“That’s unless it does less than 6mph, which makes it a mobility scooter.”
Mark argues that countries such as France, Ireland and Spain have benefited from e-scooter law changes.
“Many countries have a law that you can ride at over 15.5mph on a 500W motor if you are over 16 (years old)”, he says.
“We 100% believe that’s the future.”
“It has completely slowed the flow of traffic in all these countries where they have made it legal because there are more bikes and scooters on the roads.
“There are already 1.5 million private e-scooters in the UK.
“And they have been widely available for more than six or seven years now”
“It is too much for the police to manage. They could just go after the proper lawbreakers if the legislation was there.”
How do other city users feel about e-scooters in Dundee?
Dundee has seen a few incidents involving e-scooters in recent months.
A boy was hospitalised after a e-scooter crash in March and in February a rider was seen making a dangerous manoeuvre at one of the busiest junctions in Dundee.
And a Dundee family called for tougher laws on e-scooter riders after their 11-year-old son was knocked down by an e-scooter in September 2023.
Qaiser Habib is the president of the Dundee Taxi Drivers Association.
He has first-hand experience of encountering e-scooter riders in his taxi.
“I have seen a gang of underage boys on the roads and nobody is stopping them”, he says.
“One of the taxi drivers had an accident with these boys in the Kirkton area a few months ago.
“They are quite scary for taxi drivers. We try to avoid them sometimes and change our routes.
“They can be dangerous and at night time you sometimes can’t see them because they are not visible.
“I’ve heard of people being stopped by the police for driving e-scooters on the footpath, which is scary and dangerous for pedestrians.
“There should be some proper clarification about who can use e-scooters and how they can be used.
“If someone is using them on public routes, then they should be stopped.”
What is the UK Government’s stance on e-scooters?
Trials of e-scooters are currently ongoing in 22 specified areas of England and in May 2022 the former Conservative government said it would aim to legalise e-scooters.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering next steps on micromobility. In the meantime, private e-scooters remain illegal for use on public roads.”
Meanwhile, the cabinet secretary for transport, Fiona Hyslop hinted that it was inevitable that public use of e-scooters would be legalised in Scotland.
She also raised safety issues at the time.
Transport Scotland told The Courier that the legality of e-scooters is “broadly” a reserved matter for the UK Government.
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