Birmingham City Council has today announced that the West Midlands e-scooter trial will launch next week (Sept 10) across Birmingham and Coventry.
The trial will run for a year and will allow the public to rent an e-scooter for a pound, and a subsequent 20p for every minute it’s ridden.
It is hoped that the introduction of e-Scooters into city centres will provide a huge economic boost as they encourage people to get back into city centres after potentially being at home for months.
E-scooters also offer a green alternative to other forms of transport, in particular cars, which are responsible for huge amounts of pollution and congestion in city centres.
Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said:
“E-scooters will help bring more flexibility, choice, and greener travel solutions for the West Midlands, at a time when we are facing a climate emergency and urging people to leave the car at home. E-scooters unquestionably offer a healthier, more environmentally friendly, alternative to the car for shorter journeys around our towns and cities, which will in turn help to ease traffic congestion and tackle air pollution.
“As well as the improvements to our transport network, e-scooters could also be a much-needed boost for the region’s economy, helping to attract people back into our town and city centres.”
Up to 10,000 e-scooters are due to be deployed across the region over the course of the trial. Birmingham and Coventry will initially start with 200 each, with a view to increase the numbers should demand require it.
This trial comes after Tees Valley Combined Authority became the first place in the UK to trial such an e-scooter trial.
