An e-scooter revolution is coming to Britain whether the country likes it or not. “The revolution will hurt a little, but it’s necessary,” declared the vice-president of one of Europe’s leading e-scooter rental companies. Christina Moe Gjerde of Sweden’s Voi Technology has said her ambition was to have 50,000 more e-bikes and scooters on the streets of Britain. “You [Britain] are sitting on a gold mine,” said Moe Gjerde. “Get it right and there’s so much potential.”
France was an early advocate of the e-scooter craze but also one of the first to fall out of love with it
Private e-scooters are illegal on English roads but rental companies have been operating rolling trial schemes for a number of years in many towns and cities. The government wants more e-scooters and e-bikes and is encouraging local authorities to initiate more pilots. This roll-out would be regulated with restrictions on parking and speed. Moe Gjerde acknowledged that these two issues are a “problem” and reasons why e-scooters are so divisive.
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