HEALTH and safety concerns over e-scooters have prompted a Slough resident to start a national petition calling for the government to stop all trials.

Jaspal Dhariwal, on College Avenue, has put an e-petition on the government website, urging the Department of Transport to consider “revoking” its support for the e-scooter scheme across the country.

The government granted approval to multiple towns and cities, including Slough, to take part in a year-long e-scooter rental scheme, which started last October, in a bid to promote and encourage greener travel.

While it is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter, it is legal to rent an e-scooter from a local authority as long as the rider is 18 and over, has a provisional or full driver’s license, and rides it in the permitted areas and only on the roads.

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Since the trial began, citizens across England have voiced their concerns on the e-scooters’ safety such as reporting ‘dangerous’ riding both on the road and pavement, damage to property and vehicles, and selfish parking on the pavement.

Mr Dhariwal said he has been complaining to Slough Borough Council about the safety of the rental scheme for months and has demanded they install in-street bay parking as the e-scooters can be seen parked on the pavement, blocking pedestrians from passing through and causing them to go on the road.

The petition states: “The Government should revoke its support for local e-scooter trials as I have health and safety concerns regarding such scooters being illegally ridden on pavements. The Department of Transport initiated this scheme and should revoke its support and ensure any current trials are stopped.”

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In a joint statement with Slough Borough Council, a spokesperson for Neuron Mobility, who supply the borough with the orange e-scooters, say “a vast majority” of their riders have been riding in a safe and responsible manner.

While bad parking and riding cannot be eliminated entirely, Neuron says they have implemented measures to reduce bad behaviour and make the e-scooters as safe as possible for both users and pedestrians.

One of these includes adding no-go zones, no-parking zones, and GPS trackers so their employees can pick up the e-scooter if it has been ditched in an unauthorised area.

The spokesperson added: “Members of the public can report any issues with riding and parking by contacting Neuron’s Customer Support team, via the Neuron app or by phone and email – the details can be found on Neuron’s website and on the e-scooters.”