Survey reveals support to end road ban for electric scooters - UK

By Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent

Almost two out of five people believe electric scooters should be made legal for use in roads in the UK, a new study suggests.

A survey of 2,000 adults by Halfords found that most would use an e-scooter if it was legal to do so, with half saying they might use them to commute to work.

Halfords said the safe use of e-scooters has the potential to "revolutionise" the way people travel and could help tackle pollution and congestion problems.

Spokeswoman Ella Colley says: "This research shows that there is an undeniable consumer demand for more sustainable travel options like e-scooters and many people want the UK laws to catch up with the rest of the world."

Former Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman said: "E-scooters are already incredibly popular in the UK, showing we are likely to follow the European trend but they are not yet legal to use in this country on anything other than private land.

"As e-scooters offer people a desirable and convenient alternative to driving for short journeys, they could be part of our clean air solution.

"So I am keen to help Government gather the data it needs to legislate responsibly for this new mode of transport, and do so quickly."

Almost 40% of those surveyed said they agreed e-scooters should be legalised for use beyond private land in the UK.