Ms Victoria Springthorpe:

I thank the committee for its invitation to come before it today. Bird is a last-mile electric vehicle company dedicated to bringing affordable, environmentally friendly and safe transportation to cities and towns across the world. As the company that founded the industry of e-scooters, we are trusted to operate in more than 350 markets, half of which are in Europe. We manage shared micromobility programmes through our electric scooter and electric bike partnerships with local authorities.

The company believes that shared micromobility helps communities strengthen the local economy, alleviate traffic and parking congestion, reduce harmful emissions and enhance transport access. Bird is one of the few shared micromobility companies to research, develop, design and manufacture our own scooters. Our team of former automobile and aerospace engineers build vehicles to incredibly high standards. Our goal is to create the safest and most sustainable vehicles in the industry.

We welcome the legislation and applaud the Irish Government, in particular the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, for creating a new category of powered personal transport, through which electric scooters will be legalised on Irish roads. In particular, we believe the specifications set out in the legislation, with a maximum speed of 25 km/h and a maximum weight of 55 kg, are appropriate to ensure electric scooters are a viable alternative to private car use in Ireland.

We also welcome the statement made last week by the Minister and the Minister of State that the proposed maximum power rating of 250 W for electric scooters could be adjusted through secondary legislation to account for technological developments as well as their safe and efficient use on hilly terrain. We are encouraged by the fact the Minister has proposed outlawing the use of electric scooters on footpaths. Our view is that electric scooters, like bikes in Ireland, belong on the roads and cycle lanes. Local councils should decide specific areas in which e-scooters should be used or restricted.

As an organisation, our number one priority is the safety of our riders and the safety of the general public. We welcome the strict prohibition and appropriate sanctions against the consumption of alcohol while operating an electric scooter. However, studies have shown that legislation requiring helmets and high-visibility equipment is ineffective and significantly reduces modal shift. We wish for this to be excluded from the legislation in Ireland. Instead, it is essential that providers and governments educate the public on the importance of wearing protective equipment and encourage them to do so.

Our safety approach in running micromobility is why we recently announced a first-of-its-kind partnership in Ireland. Our partnership with the Irish School of Excellence will see 80% of all secondary schools in Ireland have access to best-in-class e-scooter safety training for those aged 16 and older. We are delighted to invite committee members to attend this training in their locality

We are thrilled by the potential Ireland holds for the uptake of shared micromobility. While Ireland remains heavily reliant on car use as the primary mode of transport, even for journeys under 2 km that are ideal for micromobility, we believe this could be the dawn of a new era of sustainable travel across the country, complementing existing and planned infrastructure. I thank the committee again for inviting us today.