After seizing 53 privately-owned e-scooters in 2019 and 284 in 2020, the Met Police has so far confiscated 3,637 this year. The crackdown has largely come about after Transport for London (TfL) and London Councils launched three rental e-scooter trials in June.
While a blanket ban on e-scooters was lifted in July 2020 to allow for trials, the use of privately owned e-scooters on public roads remains illegal.
London’s e-scooter trials began in early June with three operators – Dott, Lime and Tier – involved. We reported at the time how officers began cracking down on privately owned e-scooters shortly beforehand and MyLondon reports that 1,103 were seized that month alone.
More recently, just 262 were confiscated in October and Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly member, said she would like to have seen the earlier level of enforcement maintained.
“The Met rightly stepped up enforcement activity against private e-scooters being illegally ridden on pavements and roads this year, especially at the time of the start of the regulated and legal rental trials.
“However it is disappointing that after a short enforcement blitz back in June the level of police enforcement has fallen away.
“In the run up to Christmas the police should resume higher levels of enforcement against private e-scooters. The message should be clear to everyone that the riding of privately owned e-scooters on pavements and public roads remains an offence.”
Although around half of the e-scooters are returned upon proof of ownership, the Met has reportedly seized so many that it has purchased marquees in which to store them.
Most of those that aren’t collected are destroyed.
A decision on potential changes to the legality of e-scooters has been pushed back by the government until after the London trials. It is now unlikely before March of next year.
Richard Adely, CEO of e-scooter manufacturer Taur, said that the government’s “dithering and delay” had allowed unregulated scooters to proliferate.
Halfords has previously said that the UK is ‘behind the curve’ when it comes to legalising privately owned e-scooters and has called for them to be made road legal.
Conservative Assembly member Neil Garratt commented: "Currently you walk into a reputable shop, buy one, then set off riding it, which is illegal. It's almost a form of entrapment. The law sets them up to fail.”
