scooters have been given the go ahead in Salford – and will be on the streets next month.
City Mayor Paul Dennett gave approval to a trial scheme, for up to 12 months, in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the University of Salford.
Lime, which already provides e-scooters in 125 cities around the world, has been chosen to supply and operate the scooters.
The trials will begin at The University of Salford Peel Park and Frederick Road campus, before being expanded to connect the campus to MediaCityUK. Phase three will see the trial zone expanded to cover Ordsall and city centre Salford. The trial will be open to everyone over 18 with either a provisional or full driving licence to use within the designated trial areas.
Councillor Mike McCusker, Executive Support Member for Planning, Housing and Sustainable Development, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Salford to trial sustainable, green transport.
“We’ve made huge advances in green transport, with investment in electric car charging points, investment in our network of former railway lines which now provide 27 kilometres of traffic free routes for commuting and pleasure and now we’re delighted to pioneer the use of e-scooters.”
Nicola Kane, Head of Strategic Planning, Research and Innovation at TfGM, said: “E-scooters have been hugely successful in many other countries around the world. We know people want to use them to get about and they can be a stepping-stone to encouraging them to use cars less for local journeys – reducing congestion, improving connectivity with public transport hubs and making our air cleaner.
“We’ve worked in close partnership with Salford City Council on this project. We have also engaged widely with stakeholders such as Greater Manchester Police, the Royal National Institute for the Blind and local council members, putting us in a strong position for launch and ensuring that the schemes are accessible.”
E-scooters can be accessed through the Lime app on a smartphone. Riders will approach a scooter and scan the QR code on the handlebars to begin a ride. Each scooter ride will cost £1 to unlock and 15p per minute to ride. When a ride is complete, users must park the scooter in designated parking locations and take a photo to confirm the end of the ride. This ensures the scooter is responsibly parked and out of the path of pedestrians.
When it comes to Covid-19, Lime is taking a range of precautions to address potential safety concerns. While Covid-19 is considered to transmit through close contact from person-to-person, and surface transmission is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, Lime has enhanced the cleaning of scooters and increased its frequency. Lime cleans all parts of the scooter that are touched by people and only uses products on the Center for Biocide Chemistries list that have been approved by public health officials for use against the coronavirus.
Lime distributes hand sanitiser, masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to its employees in all of its warehouses. Mechanics and operators in the field are required to wear gloves and wash their hands regularly.
