Councils, operators and local police spoke about the city’s ongoing e-scooter trial - including illegal parking, anti-social behaviour and environmental benefits.

Chris Curtis, Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes North, said that “common ground and genuine commitment” came out of his e-scooter summit, which discussed the ongoing e-scooter trial.

The meeting was held last week at a community centre in New Bradwell. It brought together local community groups, parish councils in the north of the city, Milton Keynes City Council, e-scooter operators, and Thames Valley Police to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the ongoing e-scooter trial in Milton Keynes, which launched in 2020.

Despite the e-scooters providing opportunities for getting around the city, a number of concerns remain about their use. Discussions focussed on three major topics around making parking work for everybody, holding riders to high safety standards, and the benefits of micromobility in the city.

A landmark summit discussed the future of e-scooters in Milton Keynes - including the challenges of illegal parking and anti-social behaviour.

placeholder image — A landmark summit discussed the future of e-scooters in Milton Keynes - including the challenges of illegal parking and anti-social behaviour.

These topics were drawn out of the survey launched by Chris Curtis MP weeks before the event, which received over five hundred responses from local residents. Responsible parking of e-scooters remained a big concern, but had been significantly improved by the introduction of mandatory parking zones in 2026.

Most parishes at the meeting said they had been able to work with the e-scooter operators to tweak the proposed parking zones for their specific communities, and others said that they would do so in the future. Anti-social behaviour on e-scooters was another big challenge. The e-scooter operators confirmed that they had the ability to ban underaged users, or those using the e-scooters irresponsibly with more than one passenger.

The City Council said an investment had been made in specialist cameras to help catch anti-social behaviour connected to the trial. ID checks to crack down on underage riders have expanded in recent months, which has led to a fall in reported incidents.

Anybody who witnesses reckless use of e-scooters is encouraged to get in touch with the operators with the time and place of the incident so that swift action can be taken. Despite the real challenges faced by the community, a lot of common ground was found, with attendees largely agreeing that Milton Keynes was well-built for the scheme and it provided a valuable tool for people to get around our city in a green way.

Those present were overwhelmingly committed to making the trial work for everybody, and looked forward to changes at a national level to allow the scheme to move forward past the lengthy trial stage. Chris Curtis, Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes North, said: “Whilst challenges with the trial remain, I was struck by the common ground and genuine commitment from those attending to making the scheme work for Milton Keynes.

"I will now take the feedback of residents in Milton Keynes North back to Parliament, so that I can take any opportunity that I can to push for the next stage of this process.

Cllr. Kerrie Bradburn, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at Milton Keynes City Council, said: “There is clearly a place for hire e-scooters and e-bikes in Milton Keynes. They give people another affordable and sustainable way to get around our city, but poor parking, underage use and reckless riding are genuine safety concerns and need to be tackled. “It is also important to distinguish the legal hire scheme from privately owned e-scooters, which remain illegal to use in public.

“After six years of trials, we need a clearer long term framework from Government, so I’m pleased Chris will be taking these issues back to Parliament and pressing for the next stage.”