Agenda item

Purpose of Report

This report provides an update on the operation of the existing rental e-scooter trial and recommendation for continued participation in the extended trials as announced by the Department for Transport (DfT).  It also recommends moving to a sole operator model for shared micromobility (rental e-scooters, bicycles and electric bicycles) in Portsmouth and sets out the process for achieving this.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the Cabinet Member for Transport:

1.    Approves the renewal of the Vehicle Special Order (VSO) for Portsmouth's rental e-scooter trial until 31 May 2026, in accordance with the DfT's new end date for its national trials;

2.    Approves the extension of Voi's contract to operate the rental e-scooter scheme by one month, from its current expiration date of 31 May 2024 to 30 June 2024, to align its end date with that of Beryl's current operating contract for bike share;

3.    Approves Portsmouth City Council leading a Solent Transport procurement to select a sole micromobility operator for all existing Solent schemes from summer 2024 onwards;

4.    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director of Economy, Planning and Transport to continue to implement the rental e-scooter trial within the parameters established by the VSO and DfT until 31 May 2026, and, in consultation with the Assistant Director for Procurement, for Portsmouth City Council to award and enter into an operating contract with the highest scoring tenderer identified through Solent Transport's procurement.

1.    Approved the renewal of the Vehicle Special Order (VSO) for Portsmouth's rental e-scooter trial until 31 May 2026, in accordance with the DfT's new end date for its national trials.

2.    Approved the extension of Voi's contract to operate the rental e-scooter scheme by one month, from its current expiration date of 31 May 2024 to 30 June 2024, to align its end date with that of Beryl's current operating contract for bike share;

3.    Approved Portsmouth City Council leading a Solent Transport procurement to select a sole micromobility operator for all existing Solent schemes from summer 2024 onwards;

4.    Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Economy, Planning and Transport to continue to implement the rental e-scooter trial within the parameters established by the VSO and DfT until 31 May 2026, and, in consultation with the Assistant Director for Procurement, and the Cabinet Member for Transport and Opposition spokespersons, for Portsmouth City Council to award and enter into an operating contract with the highest scoring tenderer identified through Solent Transport's procurement.

Gareth James, Transport Strategy Team Leader, presented the report, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the operation of the existing rental e-scooter trial and recommendation for continued participation in the extended trials as announced by Department for Transport (DfT). The report also recommended moving to a sole operator model for shared micromobility (rental e-scooters, bicycles and electric bicycles) in Portsmouth and set out the process for achieving this.

Gareth highlighted that the scheme had enabled rental bikes and e-scooters to be introduced in a controlled and safe manner and that they were a popular addition for travel options on shorter journeys. In addition, it had supported the ambitions of Portsmouth's Adopted Transport Strategy 2021 - 2028, particularly policy C.

Gareth also stressed that not extending the trial may mean that the Council and its residents would no longer experience the positive outcomes whilst some negative outcomes may be anticipated.   The illegal use of private scooters would continue even if the rental scheme were to end and could potentially increase as those who had come to rely on the rental e-scooters may use private e-scooters instead.

Members' questions

In response to member questions, officers clarified:

·         The rental scheme trial was originally scheduled to end on 30 November 2021, but the Government had extended the trial three times and it was now scheduled to end in the summer of 2026. 

·         The tender process may result in an operator that is not VOI as it will be between operators on the framework which includes VOI and Beryl.

·         The specification being drawn up was based on the feedback and evidence on all the different aspects of the scheme.   This included that it should be a fully docked scheme.

·         Safety had been a key focus for Portsmouth and Solent Transport in its monitoring and evaluation of the trials.  They were confident the data on safety was accurate which was from the operators with a cross check being carried out to ensure data is not being missed.

·         An exercise commissioned by a consultancy called TRL, in relation to data collection, was detailed in the report at 3.22.  This would be a representative piece of sampling across Portsmouth, Southampton, and Isle of Wight to encompass different demographics and both users and non-users.

·         In relation to enforcement, positive talks had been held with local Police who had informed they may be moving to a more robust enforcement regime for illegal e-scooters.

·         With regard to a new legal framework for e-scooters, there was work going on at the DfT at officer level.  The understanding was that they were planning to run a consultation with the public on what the regulatory framework for private e-scooters should look like.

·         Voi ran a backward engineering exercise to ascertain the split between public reports of misuse and Voi reports of misuse.  The vast majority of reports were from Voi operatives on the street.  There had been a slight upturn in public reports.

Member comments

Members were keen that a docked system for e-scooters and bikes should continue.

Members requested that recommendation 4, be changed to include consultation with the Cabinet Member and opposition spokespersons to ensure the specifications for the new operator were acceptable.  This was agreed.

Members suggested that a link straight through to the Voi app to report misuse could be added to the My Portsmouth App to aid improved reporting levels from the public.

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Transport:

1.    Approved the renewal of the Vehicle Special Order (VSO) for Portsmouth's rental e-scooter trial until 31 May 2026, in accordance with the DfT's new end date for its national trials.

2.    Approved the extension of Voi's contract to operate the rental e-scooter scheme by one month, from its current expiration date of 31 May 2024 to 30 June 2024, to align its end date with that of Beryl's current operating contract for bike share;

3.    Approved Portsmouth City Council leading a Solent Transport procurement to select a sole micromobility operator for all existing Solent schemes from summer 2024 onwards;

4.    Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Economy, Planning and Transport to continue to implement the rental e-scooter trial within the parameters established by the VSO and DfT until 31 May 2026, and, in consultation with the Assistant Director for Procurement, and the Cabinet Member for Transport and Opposition spokespersons, for Portsmouth City Council to award and enter into an operating contract with the highest scoring tenderer identified through Solent Transport's procurement.