E-scooter training and education event
18 July 2022 : Council news, Community, Environment
Somerset West and Taunton’s e-scooter operator Zipp Mobility is running a training and education event in Taunton town centre this week.
The event on Thursday 21 July is part of efforts by the Council and Zipp to continuously improve the service as well as educate the public on the safe use of e-scooters following further guidelines from the Department of Transport.
It will run between 11am and 2pm outside the Taunton Visitor Centre, at the Market House, Fore Street.
All attendees will have the opportunity to meet the Zipp team and ask questions related to the trial and using the e-scooters.
Anyone who comes along and registers a new account on the day will receive a £5 credit to have a test drive but will need a driving licence and bank card to verify their account.
For more information on the training session please contact info@zippmobility.com
The e-scooter trial in Taunton launched in October 2020 and is proving to be popular among residents and visitors. It has seen more than 99,800 rides by over 13,000 riders who have travelled over 190,000 miles since it began, removing an estimated 26.5 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere when compared with a fossil fuel powered vehicle.
SWT is currently considering lengthening the trial after the DfT announced the opportunity to extend the end date from 30 November 2022 to 31 May 2024.
The Taunton trial currently has 100 e-scooters located across the town at 60 approved parking bays.
Bay numbers have increased since the launch with requests for additional bays coming from local businesses wanting a parking bay close to their place of work for commuting staff and visitors.
The Zipp e-scooters operate from 5.30am until 10.30pm, seven days a week, and can only be used by people over the age of 16 with a provisional or full driving licence.
It costs £1 to unlock the e-scooter and 15p per minute thereafter using the Zipp Mobility App.
The trial in Taunton is geofenced which means the e-scooters will only work inside permitted areas.
The maximum speed of e-scooters in the SWT trial is limited to just over 15.5 mph, and there are some slower zones within the trial area too.
While e-scooters offer a cleaner, greener way to get around in line with SWT’s commitment to working towards achieving carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2030, the emphasis is on safety with e-scooter users being aware of and considerate to other road users and pedestrians.
If you witness misuse of an e-scooter which is part of the trial you can report it directly to Zipp who have the power to give warning notices and ban users.
You will need to provide as much detail as possible about the incident (day, date, time, location, description of the rider and the e-scooter registration number that can be found on the rear wheel hub).
You can email Zipp at info@zippmobility.com who will acknowledge your email and investigate each case further but will but will be unable to give you specific feedback on any action they have taken.
There is also an option to raise a customer service call to Zipp on their App.
At present private e-scooters remain illegal to use in the UK, apart from on private land.