Mr. Matthew Pencharz:

As members might expect, the operators are going to largely agree on this. I agree with what Mr. Robertson just said about differentiation between the shared schemes and private e-scooters. We are regulated. Local authorities or governments can control where we operate with slow speed zones and normal speed zones, where the riders may park their vehicles and so on. We believe private e-scooters are also a tool when it comes to decongesting and decarbonising our cities. It is very important that they are seen to be on a level playing field with the shared e-scooters. Some of the regulations should be very simple when it comes to standards, for example power outage, power rating and, more important, speed, so that these vehicles are essentially type approved in the same way as the shared e-scooters are. Members could look at some of our European neighbours. The Germans have type approved their vehicles and the Department for Transport in the UK has type approved the trial scooters. We believe that should be extended to private e-scooters in due course. Insurance requirements should surely be the same for private e-scooters. Registration plates for scooters in shared schemes have worked very well in the UK when it comes to enforcement and safety. There should be a similar requirement for private e-scooters. They are definitely part of the story and probably quite an important part. However, it is very important that there is a level playing field and that regulations are the same for shared and for private.