Electric scooter hire scheme launches on Wednesday in Milton Keynes - and you can even ride them on some roads

The UK's first full-scale e-scooter service will go live in MK this Wednesday.
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Lime, in partnership with MK Council, will be launching a fleet of 500 machines that can be hired and ridden on Redways, minor roads and pavements throughout the city.

But they will not be allowed to go on grid roads or any roads with a speed limit of more than 30mph.

The e-scooters have already been hailed as the ideal enviromentally-friendly and Covid-safe way to travel to work.

The machines can go almost 15mphThe machines can go almost 15mph
The machines can go almost 15mph

They can go at speeds up to 14.8 mph, and to hire one you must be aged 18 or over and hold at least a provisional driving licence.

The launch comes just weeks after the government agreed to legislative changes to allow e-scooter trials on British roads.

Lime has committed to providing a fleet of up to 500 of its latest e-scooters for rental in the city based on expected demand. This will see Milton Keynes become the first city in the UK to enjoy the first multimodal service, which is something widely seen in cities across Europe, the United States and Asia.

Cllr Pete Marland, leader of MK Council, said: “At a time when residents are in need of safe, environmentally- friendly and socially-distant means of transport, we’re thrilled to be the first UK city to provide this type of large e-scooter trial. "

Lime e-scooters ready to goLime e-scooters ready to go
Lime e-scooters ready to go

He added: "We’re pleased to continue working with Lime and are looking forward to seeing the people of Milton Keynes take advantage of the on-street e-scooter service. This will provide an important new travel option to residents and visitors to Milton Keynes and we look forward to working with Lime to study the results from the trial.

"Following the success of innovative trials of technologies like shared e-bikes and autonomous delivery robots, Milton Keynes will now be home to the country’s first large scale e-scooter trial."

It is expected the trial will run for a period of twelve months

Florence Milner, General Manager UK & Ireland at Lime, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected as the first provider to bring e-scooters to the UK at scale. We believe they will transform travel in Milton Keynes at a time when we’re in desperate need of alternatives to driving.

“We’re thrilled that Milton Keynes Council have continued to show faith in the high quality services we provide. It was a highly competitive selection process so we are very pleased to have been selected to continue serving the people of Milton Keynes, as we have already done successfully for over 18 months.

We are actively involved in other competitive processes to provide e-scooter services to other towns and cities in the UK and hope to be able to further expand our service soon.”

An MK Council spokesman said: "The current plan is that the e-scooters can ride along the redways, minor estate roads and pavements. We are currently working on a geofencing plan, the e-scooters will not be able to go on roads that are in excess of 30mph."