Dr. Lorraine D'Arcy:

Interestingly, I chaired a session for the Transport Planning Society last year around e-mobility. There was a great mix of people on the panel, including representatives from local authorities and the industry creating the scooters. The discussion went from the particulars around the speed and the nuances to the balance and allocation of road space. As has just been mentioned, there was discussion of the relative speeds of the different modes of transport, the relative risk of harm from different vehicles and how we can better allocate that space. It was really interesting because so much of the media discussion has been around regulation, but the conversation that we had was more on the question of where there is a place for e-scooters. They do have a place, but the question we need to consider is where that place is. We only have a limited amount of space between our buildings. It is about how we best share that for everybody to get around. E-scooters have a role. Those of us involved in pedestrian advocacy sometimes latch onto the fact that e-scooters are actually taking more from the walking fraternity than they are from cars, as was the intention. If e-scooters get more people out in spaces, they are a much more social way of moving around than by using a private vehicle. There is a lot to be considered. It is a nuanced issue.